Josh Warrington full career profile: highlights and world championship wins
Ahead of his fight against Anthony Cacace, let’s take a look at the career of Josh Warrington.
Josh Warrington is getting ready for one of the biggest fights of his career on Saturday evening, when he takes on Anthony ‘the Apache’ Cacace at Wembley Stadium on the undercard of Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois.
To commemorate the Leeds Warrior’s return to the squared circle, we’ll take a look back at his glittering career in the sport and highlight his greatest achievements.
With his father, Sean O’Hagan, in his corner, Warrington has held a version of the world title on two occasions. Furthermore, should he win on Saturday, he would become a two-weight world champion - something that only a handful of British fighters have achieved in history.
Josh Warrington full career breakdown
After a relatively brief amateur career, Warrington turned professional in 2009, when he was just 19 years of age. His first fight in the pro ranks came against Delroy Spencer, who he defeated on points.
After a string of fights against lower tier opponents, his first major fight came in 2012, when he fought Chris Male for the vacant English featherweight title. After a gruelling ten rounds, Warrington was awarded a unanimous decision victory and won his first title in the sport.
He went on to win the Commonwealth featherweight title a year later - Warrington put forth a dominant display against Samir Mouneimne, forcing a stoppage in the 12th round. In 2014, Warrington squared off against Martin Lindsay for the British featherweight title. In front of his hometown fans in Leeds, he outclassed his opponent en route to a unanimous decision win.
Just five months later, he won the European featherweight title by TKO in blistering fashion against Davide Dieli. He swarmed the Italian from the opening bell - the referee called a halt to the action in the fourth round. Fighting once again at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, Warrington faced off against Dennis Tubieron for the WBC International featherweight title. Once again, Tubieron was unable to cope with Warrington’s high energy assault and was defeated by unanimous decision.
In 2018, Warrington took on Lee Selby in the biggest fight of his career up to that point. In front of a raucous crown at Elland Road, Warrington battered Selby, leaving the Welshman bloodied and weary after 12 rounds. The result was a split decision win for Warrington, though this flattered a beaten Selby somewhat.
In his next fight, Warrington took on the legendary Carl Frampton in a title defence. In a shocking upset, Warrington bullied Frampton and won a unanimous decision - Frampton would go on to call Warrington one of the hardest punchers he had ever faced.
Warrington’s reign as world champion came to an end in 2021, when he was savagely stopped by Mauricio ‘Bronco’ Lara after a series of left hooks. The Leeds Warrior could not handle the Mexican’s power and was beaten by TKO in ninth round. He faced off against Lara again in an immediate rematch. Despite a bright start, the action was called off early due to an accidental headbutt, which opened up a cut over Lara’s eye. Due to this, the fight was called a draw.
Kiko Martinez had recently won the IBF world featherweight title after he knocked out Kid Galahad - he requested that he first defend his title against Warrington in a rematch of their bout from 2017. Despite suffering a broken jaw, Warrington was all over the Spaniard - he won his second world title after the referee stopped the bout in the 7th round.
Sadly, Warrington would not hold onto his title for long, as he was beaten in his first defence by Luis Alberto Lopez. Lopez matched Warrington’s aggression and work rate, throwing sneaky uppercuts and sickening body shots. In the end, the Mexican was awarded a majority decision win and the belt.
In his last fight, Warrington took on Nottingham’s Leigh Wood. He was in control early on, landing plenty of unanswered shots, but one punch proved to be the difference maker. Wood caught him at the end of the 7th, following up with a vicious combination that sent Warrington down. The referee did not like what he saw stopped the contest, giving Wood the win.