Josh Warrington has a ‘bee in his bonnet’ regarding Leigh Wood

Josh Warrington’s father and trainer has reiterated the importance of his rematch with Leigh Wood this weekend.

Sean O’Hagan knows how crucial it is for the 35-year-old Leeds “Warrior” to avenge his 2023 defeat to the Nottingham star if he is to continue his career at the highest level.

There are, of course, bragging rights at stake, too, as Wood and Warrington do not get along.

“There’s a bit of a grudge this time as well,” O’Hagan told BoxingScene. “I mean, I know they weren’t best mates before, but Josh has got a bee in his bonnet now with this one. To be honest with you, I think it’s the right fight for them both at this stage in their careers.”

Wood, now 37, was trailing on points until he stopped Warrington in the seventh round of their first bout, and Warrington argues he was still in a fit state to continue when it was halted.  They are both former world titleholders.

“You know, they’ve had good careers,” O’Hagan added. “They’ve had hard fights. Neither of them, both Leigh and Josh, have dodged nobody. And they go again. I think these are fights that appeal to the kind of neutral boxing fan as well. You know, that sort of thing that, regardless if you’re a Josh Warrington fan, a Leigh Wood fan, that sort of thing, you want to come in on a Saturday night, get yourself a takeaway, open a couple of cans and watch boxing. I think these are fights that appeal to the British public.”

O’Hagan is the man tasked with making sure Warrington keeps his mind on the job this time. Perhaps emboldened by some success, he paid the price and was taken out in a moment that O’Hagan believes represented a lack of concentration.

“Oh, absolutely. Absolutely,” he said. “I mean, I’m screaming from the corner, ‘Let that round go, we’ll start again.’ You know, we’d won every round. And personally, I thought Leigh was on the verge of going, to be honest. The thing that gets me, the issue for me is not the fact that the referee called it. I think the referee had, in my opinion – it’s only my opinion – they have a difficult enough job, but the breaking momentum when Josh was stopped and they took the point, that was the first issue. The second issue was an arena with that much noise going, you know. He’s walked back to the corner, he turned around on eight and he [the referee]’s waving his hands. He never even gave him a chance.”

The referee was Michael Alexander, and Team Warrington clearly believed their boxer should have been able to fight on.

“We could argue that when Leigh Wood got hit by [Michael] Conlan in that first round, when Wood was allowed to continue. I’ve seen him do it several times before, not just him, but other referees – and there doesn’t seem to be any consistency. All we’re asking for is consistency.”

Wood argues that what went before was made obsolete by the finish and used the analogy of a runner being up at the 200m mark of a 400m race.

“It’s a load of rubbish, isn’t it?” said O’Hagan, scoffing at the analogy. “He knows it. He knows it. He knows he’s up for a hard night. Boxing and athletics are two different things, aren’t they? I don’t go for that one.”

What most seem to be in agreement with is that the fight will deliver. The first contest was a war, and O’Hagan is sure this will be another.

“Absolutely. Like I say, there’s no sour grapes. It's just boxing. I’m experienced now, and you realize that sometimes it’s going to go your way, sometimes it’s not. So what we do, we go again.”

Does he agree with promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing that it could be a matter of all or nothing for the winner, with the loser having nowhere to go?

“I think it could be, you could say that now,” O’Hagan admitted. “Whoever wins, [but] whoever loses, I think once the dust has settled and a couple of months down the line, there’ll still be people wanting to claim their scalps. You know, there’ll still be people saying, ‘Oh yeah, fight Leigh Wood, two-time world champion, Josh Warrington, two-time world champion, you know, so maybe.”

And for the winner, they could be instantly in line for another big night.

“Exactly, we never know,” O’Hagan said. “We never know. Strange things happen in boxing these days, don’t they?”