Josh Warrington caught up with Boxing Social ahead of his high-stakes rematch against British rival Leigh Wood, which takes place inside Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena on Saturday, Feb. 21 atop a Matchroom Boxing card on DAZN.
“It’s a fight I’ve wanted to get back and I thought it had gone,” Warrington told Matt Lenihan. “All of a sudden, the rematch has come out of nowhere, it’s back on, and I was straight into camp and picking up on the game-plan.”
Warrington lost by stoppage in the first fight though it was a contest he’d built a commanding lead in, and, as he’s been coveting a do-over ever since, the popular Brit told us he’s had countless “discussions and conversations” with his team, on how a rematch could go. Now, he said, it’s about execution a long-laid plan.
“I know what his strong points are, weak points. We’ve had plenty of time to go over it.”
He continued: “When I need to switch it on, go to certain places in my mind, I’ll use that. I’ve got plenty of energy going into this fight. I don’t want to let emotions fully get into this fight.
“Mike Tyson said everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face. No one expected us to be on the back-foot boxing away, Leigh tried to hold the center of the ring. There were moments it felt easy. Pushing him against the ropes, working on the inside. Maybe I let him go, when I could have stayed working. Times he got me in the clinch. Things I could have done better, and he could say the same.”
Neither fighter takes career-best form into the fight, as both have suffered stop-starts of late, with Warrington’s loss to Wood in 2023 the middle of a three-fight run of defeats which he only rebounded. from in April, last year, with a decision win over Asad Asif Khan.
Wood, meanwhile, may have beaten Warrington in the seventh back in 2023 but has only fought once, since — a ninth-round knockout loss to Anthony Cacace.
“We’ve covered a lot of bases,” he said. “One thing doesn’t get spoken about … I won’t give it away. We do things, they’re obsessed with data. Nobody pin-points it, me being the engine, throwing punches, and there’s other things we do. I’m adaptable,” Warrington said. “My old man’s mindset and brain in the corner, come up with a game-plan in between rounds. But I know when I need to switch up, myself, too.”
For more information on the Wood vs Warrington 2 event, click here.