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Josh Warrington: I dread looking back on my career and thinking what if


Josh Warrington has cut a somewhat frustrated figure in the build-up to the third defence of his IBF world title this weekend.

Sofiane Takoucht, 35-3, awaits the Leeds warrior in the ring on Saturday, but the Frenchman is a long way off the opponent Warrington was planning to face.

After fulfilling his mandatory obligations in June, Warrington set his sights on a unification fight. Talks with WBO champion Oscar Valdez were at an advanced stage before the Mexican decided to vacate his title and move up in weight. WBA holder Leo Santa Cruz then did the same. That left WBC champion Gary Russell Jr.

Takoucht is not who Warrington was hoping for (Picture: Reuters)

But Russel Jr fights just once a year and had beaten Kiko Martinez in May.

‘After the fight with Kid Galahad I went away on holiday and I told my manager I expected good news when I got back,’ Warrington told Metro.co.uk. ‘We had a meeting with Frank [Warren] and it looked positive – until we got there.

‘Frank had to break the news the other champions didn’t want the fight. I was more or less begging him to use his powers and reputation to make it happen.

‘He said he would keep on trying and he did deliver me a world title at Elland Road. He promised me in 2020 I will get my shot at another world title. I’ve put my trust and faith in him.

‘I’ve got to win my next fight to keep that dream alive.’

The path of a modern world champion is often paved with broken promises. Fighters’ records are stacked as matter of necessity in the age of pay-per-view stars. A super-fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao took over half a decade to put together. By 2015, it was long past it’s best-before date.

In boxing the longer you are world champion, the more you get paid. Politics and financial agendas rule the sport and as a result, unification fights are sold to the fans as a luxury.

Warrington fears ending his career with regrets (Picture: Reuters)

Russell Jr has fought once a year since claiming the WBC belt in 2015. None of those fights have been unification clashes. He’s exactly the kind of champion Warrington doesn’t want to be.

He explained: ‘I’ve told Frank I don’t ever want to be a long-reigning world champion if I never fight another champion.

‘I’m not about that. Give me the big fights and I’ll test myself. I’ll be satisfied when I win another belt. I might even consider my options if things continue as they are.

‘There could be bigger challenges in the division above. But right now, I’m desperate to fight for another world title.’

After beating Galahad, Warrington declared to his Leeds faithful an away trip to America was next. For a man who still hand delivers tickets to his most loyal fans, breaking that promise felt like a betrayal.

Warren intends for Warrington to return to Leeds United’s Elland Road next summer. Warrington, though, says he cannot fight at such hallowed ground if it is not a unification fight.

‘I can’t go to Elland Road without a big fight,’ he insisted. ‘I promised my fans we would be going to the States and maybe I got carried away with myself, but I thought after I beat Galahad there was no-one left for me to fight here.

Supremely talented Russell Jr fights just once a year (Picture: Getty)

‘I’ve done the Leeds Arena and Manchester Arena multiple times. I thought I’d be broadening my popularity worldwide and that’s what I promised my fans. That didn’t happen.

‘If I’m going to Elland Road next year it has to be a big fight. Last time I was fighting Lee Selby for a world title. It can’t be a simple defence.

‘It has to be a meaningful fight, I owe that to myself and my fans.

‘I don’t want to be a world champion who strings out their reign. I don’t want defences after defences.

Warrington is set for a return to Elland Road next year (Picture: Reuters)

‘I want to test myself every time I get into the ring, hopefully you end up at the top of the tree, but I want the fights regardless.

‘The world doesn’t end if you come up short. My fans expect me to fight the best. That’s what I expect of myself.’

At the moment, it is unclear who Warrington might fight at Elland Road. It could be Russel Jr, but there are now two vacant titles in the division. There could be two newly minted champions by the summer of 2020 completely disinterested in staging their first defence against an established rival.

Warrington might be forced to move up in weight (Picture: Getty)

Warrington may be made to wait or forced to move up in weight, but even at 28, the IBF champion insists the clock is ticking.

‘If we get to this time next year and I’m still waiting for a unification fight… I don’t know what I’d do,’ he said.

‘Maybe I’d have to change my whole persona. Get nasty on social media, but that’s never been my style.

‘Lots of people tell me I should do that more often and turn up at fights. I pay a manager to sort the fights out and I have a promoter.

‘But eventually, you become desperate because we’re not boxers forever. You have a small window to get the big fights.’

Tickets for Warrington vs Takoucht on Saturday Oct 12th are available via Ticketmaster.co.uk





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