Josh Warrington discusses IBF ruling

As fight night draws closer, Josh Warrington has put the disappointing news that Anthony Cacace’s IBF super featherweight title won’t be on the line when they fight at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night behind him. Warrington has quickly switched his attention to taking the Irishman’s name and building his own legacy. 

Although Warrington, 31-3-1 (8 KOs), hasn’t won a fight since beating Kiko Martinez to become a two-time IBF featherweight champion in March 2022, and isn’t ranked by the governing body at super featherweight, there were hopes that his long history with the IBF would count in his favour. However, those were dashed officially on Monday. 

The IBF have ruled that should Warrington win, the title will become vacant. Should Cacace win, he must defend the title against his mandatory challenger, Eduardo Nunez, within 180 days or by March 20, 2025.

Of course, Warrington would have loved the opportunity to win a world title in a second weight division but the knowledge that he is fighting one of the most dangerous 130lbs fighters in the world is motivation enough. 

A victory over Cacace would all but guarantee him a future shot at a super featherweight title but, at 33 years old, Warrington is determined to see out his career by fighting the biggest and best names available.

“Listen, it’s one of those things, isn’t it? I went to the stage where I just want to fight names,” Warrington told BoxingScene a couple of days before the IBF had made their final decision public. 

“It’s my own bit of history.  It’s my own little bit of legacy. 

“I think at a certain stage, yeah, It’s nice to be seen as the two, three, four, five, six-time world champion but, ultimately, it comes down to who you’ve boxed and who you’ve beat, I think.”

John Evans has contributed to a number of well-known publications and websites for over a decade. You can follow John on X @John_Evans79