Eddie Hearn has warned that Josh Warrington could retire if he loses his fight against Kiko Martinez on Saturday night.
In another big weekend for boxing, Martinez and Warrington face off in the ring for the first time since 2017. In their first matchup, the Yorkshire man defeated Martinez on points after a massive battle between the featherweights.
With that victory in Leeds, Warrington successfully defended his WBC featherweight belt and moved to 25 fights unbeaten.
Fast forward to 2022. The pair will fight at the same arena but under different circumstances. This time, Warrington is challenging Kiko Martinez. The Spanish fighter currently holds the IBF featherweight title – a belt Warrington held just a few years ago.
Read: Kiko Martinez vs Josh Warrington II: UK start time, how to watch, how much, fight card
Furthermore, Martinez comes into the fight on the back of a stunning win over Kid Galahad. In contrast, Josh Warrington is in vastly different form.
Warrington’s recent woes
Despite starting his career an incredible 30-0, Warrington has hit a rough patch. He was knocked out by Mauricio Lara at the start of 2021 to suffer his first loss. Their rematch later in 2021 ended disappointingly too.
Warrington and Lara’s rematch ended in round 2. An accidental head clash caused a massive cut above the Mexican’s eye. Therefore, the referee ended the fight, and it was labelled a technical draw.
Disappointingly, the Yorkshire boxer’s last win came back in 2019. Like Martinez, his previous win came against Kid Galahad. Warrington won via majority decision to defend his IBF title.
Three years later, promoter Eddie Hearn has issued a warning to fans of Josh Warrington about his career.
Eddie Hearn sends warning about Josh Warrington
In an interview with Boxing Social, Eddie Hearn built up the importance of the fight for the British boxer.
“If Josh Warrington loses on Saturday night, he retires from boxing,” he claimed. “That’s a scary thought when you love something, you know?”
Hearn used an analogy of the interviewer to emphasize his point.
“You imagine when the pressure is on you to deliver in an interview with me, and this is the last interview. If you don’t get this right, your days of interviewing would be over. That’s a lot of pressure. Can you handle that pressure?
“When you love to do something, and they’re saying, ‘if you lose this, it’s over’, that’s a scary thought,” he continued. “Cause what else do you do with your life when you’ve given so much to something like this?
“Both those guys are fighting not just for a world title but to hold on to what they love. And that’s why you’re going to get a great fight.”
Josh Warrington will hope to put in a stellar performance on Saturday which would, in turn, surely put an end to any retirement rumours. We will have to wait and see.
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