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Carl Frampton foe Josh Warrington vows to prove his doubters wrong

Josh Warrington and Carl Frampton meet at the MEN Arena, Manchester on Saturday night
Josh Warrington and Carl Frampton meet at the MEN Arena, Manchester on Saturday night Josh Warrington and Carl Frampton meet at the MEN Arena, Manchester on Saturday night

EVEN with home advantage, Josh Warrington was a 4-1 outsider to beat Lee Selby in May. The now reigning IBF featherweight champion has come in to 15/8 for Saturday night’s first defence against Carl Frampton but he is still the underdog.

Despite his win over Selby, the jury is still out on Warrington and he has been stung by the lack of confidence in him as a world champion. The only way he can prove his doubters wrong is by beating Frampton at the MEN Arena and that, of course, is exactly what he plans to do.

“Nobody can doubt again me when I win on Saturday night,” the Leeds native told The Irish News.

“I’ll look back at my career in 2018 and there’ll be wins over Lee Selby and Carl Frampton back-to-back, they’re two of the best fighters in the world in the featherweight division.

Read More: Carl Frampton foe Josh Warrington on his rise from wannabe to champion

“At the start of this year people would have laughed in your face if you’d have said Josh Warrington’s going to beat them both but I’ve always had that belief.

“I’m a fighter, I’m a champion and I want to fight the best and that’s why I’ve taken the fight with Carl. After it nobody can say: ‘Oh, it was just a fluke that I won the world title’, they’ll know I’m genuine world class.”

A year ago, a Frampton-Warrington match would have seemed fanciful outside of Yorkshire but the ‘Leeds Warrior’ has earned his shot and moved to 27-0 with his points win over Selby.

“It’s been a brilliant rise but it has been a long time coming,” he said.

“I’ve been a pro nine years now so it does feel like it was a long time coming.

“I’ve been very patient and I’ve gone the long way round, I’ve beaten everyone who’s been put in front of me, I’ve won every title I’ve needed to win, I’ve won final eliminators to earn my shot and I’ve beaten the champion in Lee Selby.

“But this is the time to really announce myself, enjoy being at the top level and dominate for as long as I can. I’ve got dreams and aspirations of going to Las Vegas just like Carl did last year and going on and trying to unify the title.

“That’s where I want to be and it all starts on Saturday night with Carl.”