Josh Warrington v Kiko Martinez: Leeds Warrior still in his prime despite passing 30
The Leeds Warrior is aiming to become a world champion for a second time as he bids to dethrone IBF featherweight king Kiko Martinez at the Leeds Arena tomorrow.
Warrington vacated the IBF belt early last year before suffering a shock defeat against to Mauricio Lara in February 2021.
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Hide AdAfter a successful third defence of his IBF title in October 2019, Warrington had hoped to face Can Xu for the WBA crown but those plans were disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic while the loss to Lara set his ambitions back further.
Being a unified champion still remains a goal of Warrington’s and he insists he still has plenty of fights left in him – if he has his arm raised on Saturday.
“There are a few more things I want to do in the sport, if I can tick those off in the next few years I will be a happy man,” he said.
“I used to think I would be done when I was 30. I was eyeing up Can Xu and thought I was on track. If I won that fight I would have had the Ring Magazine belt and could have gone over to the United States and fought there.
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Hide Ad“But obviously the pandemic happened and then my slip-ups against Lara happened, so I have added a few more years onto my career. I feel like I am in my peak now. In the next few years I want to tick these few goals off, then I will take it from there.”
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