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Josh Warrington to defend IBF 126-pound title against Kid Galahad on June 15 in Leeds

Photo courtesy of www.frankwarren.com
Fighters Network
19
Mar

Britain’s Josh Warrington will make the second defense of his IBF featherweight title against mandatory challenger Kid Galahad at the Leeds Arena in Leeds, England, on June 15.

Warrington, who is rated No. 2 by The Ring at 126 pounds, won his title last May, outpointing pre-fight favorite Lee Selby. Seven months later, the Leeds star provided another shock, handily outpointing former two-weight world champion Carl Frampton.

“All of sudden people are saying I am capable of beating every featherweight in the world and with that comes expectation,” said Warrington (28-0, 6 knockouts). “I will go into this fight as the bookies’ favorite, but I will be 100 percent focused and looking to do a job.

“I knew Barry when we were amateurs and he was always a decent guy, but over the last few years he seems to have changed. He did well at (junior featherweight), but he has beaten nobody as a featherweight, and he has lost respect from me for some of his antics.



“I want to be Ring Magazine champion, own all the belts and they are in touching distance. I can beat all the featherweights. I am concentrating purely on Barry, but after this I want one of the other world champions. I want champion after champion.”

Galahad (26-0, 15 KOs) was born in Qatar but has lived in Sheffield for much of his life. The former British, Commonwealth and European champion at 122 pounds honed his skills under the tutelage of the late Brendan Ingle. He is now trained by Brendan’s son, Dominic.

“Josh’s biggest asset is that people underestimate him,” said Galahad. “He’s strong, tough, durable and mentally strong, but I have the skill, will and mental toughness to beat him.

“He beat me fair and square when we were amateurs, but I always knew I’d fight him again. This is professional boxing. Why am I the man to beat him? I know mentally that I am on a different level and I have the best team in British boxing.

“He is going to walk onto a shot, he is going to get hurt very badly and his dad who trains him will stop the fight. He will make an emotional decision and throw in the towel around rounds six, seven or eight.”

Quotes courtesy of a press release issued by Frank Warren PR.

BT Sport have the live and exclusive TV rights for Warrington v Galahad in the U.K.

Tickets for Warrington v Galahad go on sale via firstdirectarena.com at 12:00 p.m. on Mar. 22.

 

Tom Gray is a U.K. Correspondent/ Editor for RingTV.com and a member of The Ring ratings panel. Follow him on Twitter: @Tom_Gray_Boxing

 

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