Josh Warrington Questions Stoppage Loss to Leigh Wood
To excel in the sport of boxing, one has to have a very high level of self-belief. This is what makes losing after a strenuous training camp so difficult. It’s all the more devastating when succumbing by knockout. Yet, perhaps the worst of all is to lose by an unjustified knockout. This is what Josh “The Leeds Warrior” Warrington (31-3-1, 8 KO’s) felt about his latest defeat to WBA featherweight champion “Leigh-thal” Leigh Wood (28-3, 17 KO’s).
In their bout, following a couple acclimation rounds, the two-time champion fell into a great groove and assumed complete control. Then, at the tail-end of the seventh round, The Leeds Warrior walked into a right hook that literally froze him in place. Presented with the stationary target, Wood clobbered him with four more crisp hooks to the mouth, effectively splaying Warrington out flat on his back. All of this took place with less than ten seconds to go. In fact, all Warrington had to do was beat the count to survive the round, which he did. Yet, referee Michael Alexander still called a halt to the bout.
TOO MUCH, TOO SOON?!
In his opinion, Alexander could have allowed him the time in between rounds to recover from the impactful shots. This was reinforced by how dominant he had been in the contest to that point. Regardless of his feelings on the matter, or havoc the loss will reap on his career, The Leeds Warrior was still served the loss all the same. Naturally, as he explained to Seconds Out, he’d love a rematch but is doubtful it will happen.
“I feel like I got robbed. I jumped up quite quickly and was walking back to my corner and I could hear Michael Alexander counting. I heard the bell ring at six and turned around at eight and he had already waved it off. I feel like he is an experienced referee, he’s a well loved referee. He should have given me the benefit of the doubt. At least give me that minute to recover, let me carry on.”
“[A rematch would] be nice! Does it fit Matchroom’s agenda, I don’t know. I know there has been some talks already about Joe Cordina. He seems to be the golden child at Matchroom, so he gets first dibs. If Leigh really wants it, and be a man of his word, then he will give me the opportunity, but we’ll see.”
ROLL OF THE DICE
It will be revealing to see how Wood responds to the notion that Warrington was swindled out of victory. Despite feeling that he has a privileged position, IBF super featherweight champion Joe Cordina is scheduled to face Edward Vazquez on November 4. With this being the case, maybe The Leeds Warrior can talk himself into the rematch that he is craving. In any case, stick close to 3Kings Boxing for all the latest breaking news and updates.
