Josh Warrington reveals row with his own team over boxing retirement before making U-turn… and calls out three rivals
JOSH WARRINGTON was in a row with his own team over retiring from boxing – and thankfully made a U-turn before it was too late.
The two-time featherweight world champion appeared to call it quits for his career after defeat to Anthony Cacace in September at Wembley.
Warrington laid his gloves on the canvas – the universal boxing signal that a fighter is retiring.
However, no confirmation followed – much to Warrington’s own frustration.
But after being convinced to allow some time before confirming his decision – Warrington rediscovered his passion for the sport.
He told Ring Magazine: “I wanted to put something out about retirement.
“I actually had a bit of an argument with my media manager, James Marshall, because I just wanted to get it out, anything out, a video or a statement of something.
“But he said just to relax and to think about it. Listen, I had like two weeks of moping about, feeling sorry for myself and so I needed to let out some frustration.
“I went back to the gym and felt like everything was still there; the fitness, the timing, the sharpness, a little bit of sparring, a little bit of pads.
“I thought to myself ‘f***king hell! There’s loads left here’. Why didn’t it happen on the night against Cacace?
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“So then I started to delve a bit deeper to try and work out what went wrong and all of a sudden you come to the conclusion that it’s still there physically and mentally, it just needs adjusting in a few places and that’s it.”
Warrington first won gold in 2018 against Lee Selby and made three defences before a shock loss to Mauricio Lara in 2021.
Their rematch then ended in a draw after a clash of heads before Warrington beat Kiko Martinez to regain the title in 2022.
But Warrington is without victory in his last three – losing to Luis Alberto Lopez, Leigh Wood and Cacace.
The Leeds super-fan now returns on Saturday in Sheffield against Asad Asif Khan – but has bigger names in his sights.
The 34-year-old said: “First of all, I just want to return, get the arm raised and dust some cobwebs off.
“Then I want to be busy – I’d like to think I could get another two fights this year. There’s no reason why not.
“I know I haven’t got a belt at the moment but I’ve got a big fanbase behind me and, nine times out of ten, I’m in an entertaining fight – although it was a little bit of a stinker at Wembley.
“But I’m a two-time world champion with a great resume so I don’t see why I can’t walk into some big fights or at least keep active and busy.
“I’d love to put the Leigh Wood one to bed and then to get the Cacace one after that would be even better.
“I’m disappointed that we could never get the Wood rematch over the line in the first place.
“Mick Conlan is another one where our names have always been mentioned over the years but just hasn’t come to light.
“But most definitely – he has been in some entertaining fight and people just want to be entertained don’t they?”