Josh Warrington has warned he is now carrying the power to take over the super-featherweight division – starting against Anthony Cacace on Saturday.
The two-time IBF featherweight champion had made a long-awaited move up to 130lbs and heads straight into a world title fight against IBF and IBO champion Cacace – the man who so brutally dethroned Joe Cordina in May.
Warrington lost his second featherweight title after a bruising encounter against Luis Alberto Lopez in December 2022, securing another crack at world title gold against WBA champion Leigh Wood last October.
In the latest in a series of thrilling all-British dust-ups on Warrington’s CV, the Leeds fighter walked away defeated, beaten in the seventh round that night when the fight was controversially stopped.
Ahead of the Wood fight, Warrington knew his time in that division must come to an end, feeling the effects of a draining fight camp more than ever while not convinced he was carrying enough power by the end of it all to do the necessary damage.
A new division with new opportunities, starting with Cacace on the Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois card at Wembley on Saturday, now awaits. While developments this week mean Cacace’s IBF title is not set to be on the line, Warrington is out to make a statement in his new division.
‘I feel good here at the weight,’ Warrington told .
‘We’ve spoken about it for a while. But I remember for the camp for Wood, I said, “This is the last time”. Nothing was going to keep me there. I’m 33 now, there was a stage where I felt I could be comfortable down the weights, but not anymore. I feel so strong, now there’s a new lease of life in me.
‘I would feel it in training, in the back end of camp. It was a struggle. But now everything is still right up there.
‘I feel that extra power. There are times when you hit the pads and you’re not convinced the power is there. People in camp speak positively as possible. But numbers don’t lie. Now, I’m still climbing, breaking personal records. The feedback from sparring partners, guys at welterweight, they’ve been shocked.
‘All the divisions, from super bantam to lightweight, they are absolutely stacked. There are so many good fighters in the divisions. If I stuck at featherweight there would have been options but we felt it was time to move up and there are great opportunities here.’
Belfast fighter Cacace realised a career dream when he stunned the previously undefeated Cordina on the Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk undercard in May to win his first major world title at the age of 35.
Having won just one of his last five fights, Warrington is aware of the size of the task at hand. Defeats to Lopez and Wood have been damaging while memories of his brutal battles with Mauricio Lara still linger.
The 33-year-old has been part of some huge domestic scraps over the course of his career, including those famous wins over Lee Selby and Carl Frampton, and believes the experience of those episodes will give him the edge.
‘Anthony is where he deserves to be,’ Warrington said. ‘I have always been impressed with his boxing abilities and he’s answered all the questions asked of him. He boxed out of skin against Cordina.
‘It was well deserved, I’m sure he will be using that as motivation to keep the belts but I have been in this situations many times. That’s one thing I do have over him and that’s the experience on these big nights.
‘I feel at home in this atmosphere. I had it with Frampton of course, I remember walking into the arena that night, half the crowd singing on Marching on Together and the other half booing me like their life depended on it. That noise lifts you. Everyone wants to fight on these big shows and I’m still living that dream.’
After last year’s battle with Wood, talk of an immediate rematch took over. Wood has since vacated his WBA belt and made the same move as Warrington up to super-featherweight but negotiations to get it on again repeatedly fell through.
Joshua vs Dubois undercard and running order
Daniel Dubois vs Anthony Joshua (IBF heavyweight title)
Tyler Denny vs Hamzah Sheeraz (European middleweight title)
Anthony Cacace vs Josh Warrington (IBO super-featherweight titles)
Ishmael Davis vs Josh Kelly (middleweight)
Joshua Buatsi vs Willy Hutchinson (WBO interim light-heavyweight title)
Mark Chamberlain vs Josh Padley (lightweight)
While at the back-end of his career, Warrington still sees huge nights ahead of himself, determined to give his loyal army of fans the away day they deserve. Wood remains part of that picture.
‘I did everything to get that fight on,’ Warrington said. ‘I accepted two low offers, I went even lower to make the fight happen. Of course it is a shame, in terms of British domestic fights, that’s one of the biggest. The controversy from last time makes it even bigger.
‘I would never say never to it happening. But I still want to go to America and fight, in Vegas or New York, to give my fans the away day they deserve. If there’s the chance to win more belts beyond this and make more history for myself, I will be there.’