IBF world champion Josh Warrington re-unites with Eddie Hearn

Planet Sport writerStaff Writer12 February 2020
Josh Warrington has signed a three-fight deal with Matchroom Boxing and Eddie Hearn

Josh Warrington has signed a three-fight deal with Matchroom Boxing and Eddie Hearn

Josh Warrington has left Frank Warren to rejoin Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Boxing.

After his recent struggles to secure a unification battle with Shakur Stevenson, Warrington has opted to go back to Hearn, who is currently looking to break the American market with streaming service DAZN. Speaking about his excitement at the prospect of fighting across the pond, Warrington said: "I'm looking forward to going on to achieve my dreams of both fighting in the USA and unifying the division."

The undefeated IBF world champion had left Matchroom in order to sign with Warren's Queensberry Promotions in 2017. All of his fights have since been broadcasted on BT Sport with notable wins over British trio Carl Frampton, Lee Selby and Kid Galahad.

Hearn, who last promoted Warrington in 2016 where he defeated Patrick Hyland, is excited for what the future holds for the featherweight.

"I'm ecstatic to welcome Josh Warrington back to Matchroom. We had some amazing times helping to build Josh in Leeds and now we re-unite at a time when he is the king of the division," he said.

"Josh has some of the most loyal and passionate supporters in sport and we look forward to delivering nights they will never forget. There is so much more for Josh to accomplish and today starts a new chapter in the thrilling Josh Warrington story."

What's next for Warrington?

After a frustrating couple of months with no outcome from negotiations with Stevenson, Warrington will be desperate to get an opponent confirmed within the next couple of weeks.

Despite his friction with Bob Arum, Hearn and DAZN have a working relationship with Top Rank and ESPN. Last year, DAZN had the pleasure of streaming the super-lightweight unification battle between Jose Ramirez and Maurice Hooker while ESPN in return, won the rights for Vasyl Lomachenko's lightweight title defence against Anthony Crolla. Going forward, it indicates there's a good chance of Warrington securing a clash with Stevenson, especially with his eagerness to showcase his skills in America.

If the Stevenson fight doesn't happen this year then a huge unification at featherweight may not take place with Galahad awaiting his rematch after recently dispatching Claudio Marrero in a career-best performance to regain his IBF mandatory challenger status. Meanwhile, Gary Russell Jr isn't a realistic option after the American hinted about his recent win being his last at 126-pounds. WBA regular titlist Xu Can, another candidate to be Warrington's next opponent in the summer, is likely to be elevated 'super' champion after Leo Santa Cruz recently announced his intentions to take on Gervonta Davies next and would be an easy opponent to negotiate with.
Sooner rather than later Warrington will move up to chase down Russell Jr and Santa Cruz so his next move in 2020 is crucial.

Warrington is one of the most in-demand fighters in Britain with his strong fanbase from Leeds likened to the heyday of Mancunian Ricky 'Hitman' Hatton. The 29-year-old created boxing history in becoming the first Leeds fighter to win a world title at his beloved Elland Road - the home of football side Leeds United - against Selby in 2018.

Despite a sensational performance to dethrone the longest world champion from the UK at that particular time, Warrington went into his next fight as the underdog with two-division world champion Carl Frampton. Warrington would go onto win via unanimous decision in a thrilling fight which saw the 'Jackal' rocked several times. The contest, which took place in Manchester, was a fight of the year contender.

He then outpointed Yorkshire rival Galahad in a fight which failed to ignite before destroying Frenchman Sofiane Takoucht in October. Regardless of who faces him next, the future is bright for Warrington.