Josh Warrington Plays His Cards Right, Plus Other Lessons Learned from Leeds
Josh Warrington moved a step closer towards a world-title shot with a unanimous-points win over Hisashi Amagasa on Saturday.
Cheered on by his home crowd, featherweight Warrington defended his WBC International belt in the main event at the First Direct Arena in Leeds, England.
Stuart Hall was also victorious on the undercard, overcoming Rodrigo Guerrero on points after 12 tough rounds. The result means Hall is now the mandatory challenger to IBF bantamweight champion Lee Haskins.
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Here, Bleacher Report breaks down some of the major talking points from the action.
Judge for Yourselves
By beating Amagasa, a man who can boast he knocked down Guillermo Rigondeaux twice, Warrington (23-0, 4 KOs) added the biggest scalp to his CV.
He did his level best to force a stoppage in front of his raucous supporters, too, throwing everything at his opponent from Japan.
Amagasa—fighting outside his homeland for the first time—made it through to the final bell. However, judging by the final scores from the judges, he might as well not have bothered.
First Class Boxing tweeted the verdict:
First and foremost, Warrington deserved to win. The issue isn't with the final result, just the margin of it.
For one official to give the Englishman the nod by 13 points was astonishing. There were no knockdowns during the 36 minutes of action, making plenty wonder on social media if the Bulgarian judge who handed in such a one-sided card had bothered to watch the fight at all:
Amagasa (30-6-2, 20 KOs) left the ring in a hurry after the verdict. You wouldn’t blame him if he had headed straight to an airport, flew home and vowed never to box abroad again.
He wasn't the only visiting fighter to feel a sense of injustice on the night, either.
Hall and Guerrero stood toe-to-toe in a watchable battle in the chief support.
It looked to be a close call heading to the cards, yet somehow viewed as a one-sided win by those who mattered. Hall got the nod, as all three judges had it 117-111 in his favour.
Judging is a matter of opinion, and viewing a fight subjectively (and from different locations) can always lead to variations in the final numbers.
However, such erratic scoring does not do either fighter justice. The losers on Saturday deserved more credit for their efforts, while the victors' performances were overshadowed by a factor out of their control.
It also doesn't do the sport any good to have the ineptitude of the judges as the major talking point at the end of the night.
Warr of Britain
Predictably, Warrington’s post-fight interview included a question about IBF champion Lee Selby.
The pair have seemingly been on a collision course for some time. Warrington has cleaned up behind his British rival, scooping up the British, European and WBC International belts after Selby had vacated them.
Now the Welshman holds a world title—and he has no intention of giving that up outside of the ring.
Warrington again made it clear that he wants to take on Selby. When asked about a potential all-British battle in the aftermath on Saturday, he told Sky Sports (h/t the Press Association via the Guardian): "It’s a fight that Leeds people want, it’s a fight that I want. I think I’ve got what it takes to beat him."
Selby, who watched the fight in a Sky Sports studio in London, unsurprisingly disagreed with his rival:
Several in the industry agreed with Selby's opinion. Former fighter Alex Arthur and Peter Fury, Tyson Fury’s trainer, both feel Warrington wouldn't be able to cope:
Promoter Eddie Hearn told Bleacher Report prior to Warrington's fight against Amagasa: "Everybody likes talking about it [Selby vs. Warrington], because it’s an all-British world-title fight. Everybody wants to see it. I think if Josh wins on Saturday, you’ll see it next."
But, is Warrington really ready for such a challenge?
His power, more specifically his lack of it, has to be a concern. Amagasa was an easy target all night, yet Warrington still failed to record a knockdown, let alone a stoppage.
Selby—an elusive fighter—would be much harder to hit. Hearn and Warrington should think wisely before diving in at the deep end. Sometimes the water is deeper than it looks.
Of course, if the fight makes sense from a financial point of view and Selby is willing to travel to Leeds, Warrington has no choice but to jump in with both feet.
Hall And Gloats
For the opening three minutes, Hall (20-4-2, 7 KOs) demonstrated the perfect plan to defeat Guerrero.
The 36-year-old—a tall bantamweight at 5’8”—was able to dictate proceedings from afar in Round 1, using his jab to keep his Mexican opponent at bay.
However, for some reason, Hall abandoned that policy and instead got involved with Guerrero (24-6-1, 16 KOs), a former world champion at super flyweight.
A war unfolded, one that saw both men have moments of real concern. Guerrero—who was cut early on after a clash of heads—looked ready to topple at times, only to summon up the stamina and strength to come back with shots of his own.
But, just like Amagasa, the final verdict failed to show any appreciation for Guerrero's performance.
Hall won’t shed any tears for his opponent, particularly as the result leaves him waiting at the front of the queue to take on Haskins, who makes the first defence of his IBF crown against Ivan Morales on May 14.
Hall and Haskins have history. The latter won their first meeting, back in 2012, for the vacant European strap. Now he owns a world title that used to be in Hall's possession.
A rematch now looks to be on the cards.
Hall will hope to get his revenge, knowing another defeat to his domestic rival would likely spell the end of his ambitions at becoming a two-time world champion.
While it won't get the media attention of a potential fight between Warrington against Selby, Hall and Haskins are much more evenly matched. Fingers crossed they meet again at some stage in 2016.
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