The Leeds Warrior will fight in his home city for the second time in 2022 this weekend as he takes on Alberto Lopez at the First Direct Arena.
He will defend his IBF featherweight world title in front of a home crowd having beaten Kiko Martinez to regain his title at the same venue back in March. The event will include a long cast of undercard fighters, with Ebanie Bridges, also known as the Blonde Bomber, fighting in front of a Leeds crowd which has become a home for the Australian.
It will be a unique event, with the boxing beginning at 1:30pm before taking a break for England's World Cup quarter final against Frrance which will be shown live on the big screen before the boxing resumes at 9pm. This will be subject to the match going to extra time and penalties.
READ MORE: Josh Warrington vs Luiz Alberto Lopez date, time, TV channel and undercard
Tickets for the event are still available here, with Warrington making his 12th appearance at the venue having made the Leeds arena a fortress during the course of his career to date. The World Champion will be hopeful of retaining his crown in what has become a highly competitive division within the boxing world with Nottingham's Leigh Wood the current WBA (regular) champion within the division.
Ahead of the fight, Warrington has acknowledged the need to win to keep his standing within a competitive field. He said ahead of the fight this week: "You don’t want to lose," he explained:. "It’s a division where fighters are constantly coming through and everyone is constantly trying to pull you back down because they want to be in your position. It’s like a game of snakes and ladders. It’s easier to just stay on top.
"It was a bit of a wakeup call was Mauricio Lara – the first one. I let my guard down. I had the Lara defeat and then all of a sudden it was, ‘he’s finished, he’s had his time in the sun’. That’s not the case. It was only a short time in the sun and I feel like I was just getting going."
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