It was not the celebration that Josh Warrington had in mind after regaining his world title. Instead of the “bread and butter pudding, a cheeseburger and a pint” that he had promised himself, Warrington spent the early hours in Leeds Royal Infirmary where he was told he had broken his jaw and hand.
Yesterday morning the 31-year-old underwent an operation to wire his jaw back together. There was a price to pay for Warrington’s win over Kiko Martínez, in which he regained the IBF featherweight title that he had given up 14 months earlier. But after a win that rescued his career, it was one he will feel was worth paying.
But it showed how close things had come to going wrong. The injured jaw was the result of a big right hand from the Spaniard seconds before the end. After taking the punch, Warrington then launched a two-handed attack that led to the referee, Marcus McDonnell, stopping the bout.
The broken hand was sustained in the third round and led to a more circumspect approach from Warrington, after a whirlwind start in which he floored Martínez in the first round.
The obvious next step for Warrington could be a fight against Leigh Wood, the WBA champion, although the Nottingham fighter’s insistence on boxing at the City Ground limits the window for his next fight to June and July. The jaw injury could mean that Warrington will not be ready in time. Instead his ambition of boxing in the United States could come true. Warrington’s huge fanbase would be welcomed with open arms in Las Vegas.
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“It would be wild,” Eddie Hearn, his promoter, said. “It’s hard to say [Ricky] Hatton-esque, but he would take 10,000-plus to Vegas. He could face Léo Santa Cruz [the WBA “super” champion] or Emanuel Navarrete [the WBO champion], they’re the two unifications. Wood is a big-money fight, but I think if you ask Josh he would take the American option.”
It was an emotional night for Warrington, who was roared on inside a packed First Direct Arena in his home city of Leeds. Warrington, who lost what was supposed to be a routine fight to Mauricio Lara last year, knew another defeat could have ended his career. “Josh is emotional but in a lot of pain,” Hearn said. “He’s never showed emotion like that. It was relief, joy. I knew he was razor sharp because he trained with fear.”
