JOSH Warrington secured his first win in three years on Saturday night, but one boxing pundit believes “The Leeds Warrior” should retire.
At the Park Community Arena in Sheffield, Warrington earned a 10-round points victory over Asad Asif Khan, a former opponent of Michael Conlan. Conlan defeated the Indian super-featherweight over eight rounds last month, marking his own first win since December 2022. While Warrington and Conlan have been linked for a potential showdown, Conlan is currently sidelined with a hand injury.
Former WBO world cruiserweight champion Johnny Nelson, who watched Warrington’s triumph on the Dalton Smith-Mathieu Germain undercard, urged the two-time featherweight world champion to hang up his gloves. “I think Josh should pack [it] in,” Nelson told Boxing News in Birmingham after Ben Whittaker’s second-round win over Liam Cameron.
“He got the win, [but] I think his legs have gone. He’s got a great fanbase, and boxing’s addictive, but his legs don’t look steady. Going forward, he’s still aggressive and has punch power, but his opponent was just a handful, not physically destructive or dangerous. Two or three years ago, Josh would have blasted that kid out.”
Warrington’s latest fight came seven months after his 12-round loss to Anthony Cacace at Wembley Stadium on the Joshua-Dubois undercard. After that defeat, Warrington left his gloves in the ring, signaling a possible end to his 15-year career, which includes English, Commonwealth, British, European, and world featherweight titles. Speaking to BN before his bout against Khan, the 34-year-old admitted his “mentality weren’t right” for the Cacace fight.
Despite the setback, Warrington remains enthusiastic about a potential clash with Conlan. “It’d be lovely, it’d be really nice,” he said. “Our names have been flirted for a long time, but it’s never materialised. He’s a big ticket seller. In boxing fans’ eyes, people might say we’re both in the last chance saloon, [but] fans want to see exciting fights.”
