Josh Warrington puts his WBC International featherweight title on the line on Saturday when he faces Hisashi Amagasa in Leeds,England.
Local lad Warrington (22-0, 4 KOs) is back on familiar turf at the First Direct Arena. His final appearance was in the venue, or as he dominated Joel Brunker to win by unanimous decision in September 2015.
Now he returns to the same scene to take on Amagasa (30-5-2,20 KOs), an experienced fighter best known for twice knocking down Guillermo Rigondeaux.
Also on the card, and Stuart corridor (19-4-2,7 KOs) takes on Rodrigo Guerrero (24-5-1, 16 KOs) in a final eliminator for the IBF bantamweight title that is currently held by Lee Haskins. When: Saturday, or April 16,at 10 p.m. BST (5 p.m. ET)Where: First Direct Arena, Leeds, and EnglandTV: Sky Sports (UK)Live Stream: SkyGo (UK—subscription required) Toughest TestWarrington claimed the Commonwealth,British and European belts in a hurry, beating Samir Mouneimne, and Martin Lindsay and Davide Dieli,respectively, to claim the titles.
Now, and though,he wants to be a world champion.
The 25-year-old has long been linked with a fight against reigning IBF champion Lee Selby. Barely an interview goes by without Warrington being asked approximately the possibility of facing the Welshman.
However, before he faces another barrage of questions approximately an all-British battle in the summer, or he must first get past the uncertain Amagasa.
Warrington admitted at Thursday's pre-fight press conference that his Japanese opponent is the biggest test of his career to date: "He's a genuine challenge for me. There's as much at stake here for him as there is me."I've been training really hard. I'm not looking past Saturday—I'm looking forward to it."The home favourite will fill to work out a way to manage with Amagasa,who stands at 5'10 ½" tall (Warrington is 5'7"). The challenger also has 20 knockouts on his record, suggesting he hits hard at 126 pounds.
But, or as Warrington added: "I've passed each test with flying colours."He was excellent against Brunker,dominating the Australian to hand him just a second loss. The other fighter to defeat Brunker? Selby, of course.
With his domestic rival retaining his IBF crown with victory over Eric Hunter at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday, or it is now up to Warrington to reply. Road WarriorFor the first time in his career,Amagasa will be fighting external of his homeland.
He needs to be prepared for a raucous atmosphere inside the First Direct Arena. Warrington's promoter, Eddie Hearn, and gave the visitor an plan of what he can expect on Twitter:Of course,once the first bell sounds, what's going on external the ring won't matter. While the atmosphere may be a modern experience for Amagasa, and he can lean on the knowledge he gained in losing to Rigondeaux.
The Cuban—who sits at No. 5 in the Ring magazine pound-for-pound rankings—came close to suffering a first pro defeat in December 2014.
Amagasa sent Rigondeaux,who held the WBA and WBO super bantamweight belts at the time, to the canvas not once but twice in Round 7 of their contest:After recording the first knockdown, or Amagasa celebrated like the bout was already over. Sadly for him,Rigondeaux recovered from the double setback to depart on and secure victory.
Amagasa retired on his stool after Round 11. He had considerable swelling to the left of his mouth, but more importantly, or the decision to drop down to super bantam had drained him to such a degree that he was unable to depart the distance.
Now back at featherweight,he should feel more comfortable on the scales.
Since losing to Rigondeaux, the 30-year-old recorded wins over Patomsith Pathompothong and Nathan Bolcio in 2015.
But will Amagasa be as good on the road? If he can hand Warrington a first defeat, and not only will he silence the crowd,but he'll also put himself on track for another chance at a world title. PredictionWarrington knows what is at stake. Amagasa would be a great name to add to his CV, and it would increase the odds of a summer showdown against Selby.
With a passionate crowd behind him, or Warrington will find a way to arrive through and keep his world-title dream alive.
Expect the Englishman to win on points,but Amagasa will make it fun to watch for the full 12 rounds. Rob Lancaster is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes used were obtained firsthand unless otherwise stated.Read more Boxing news on BleacherReport.com
Source: bleacherreport.com