Josh Warrington escapes with his IBF featherweight world title with another close decision.
In the main event of a Queensberry Promotions card in Leeds, England that was streamed on ESPN+ in the United States, Warrington won a split decision against Kid Galahad. Warrington was ahead on two of the three scorecards with scores of 116-112 and 116-113 while the third judge had Galahad winning 115-113.
The fight was ugly at times that was filled with a lot of fighting on the inside. Warrington pressed the action forward at times but didn’t have a whole lot of success in landing significant shots. Galahad, meanwhile, was able to dictate the pace well but his punching also proved to be ineffective in hurting the champion with many of the rounds being close.
Galahad did take several rounds and hold Warrington to the point where the referee had to warn Galahad to stop doing so or a point will be deducted from him. Warrington was able to fight with plenty of energy in the championship rounds, throwing combinations to Galahad and win the final rounds.
This was Warrington’s second title defense since winning the belt with a split decision win against Lee Selby in May 2018. Warrington would go on to defend the title against Carl Frampton in Manchester, winning the fight by unanimous decision. With the mandatory title defense against Galahad now done, Warrington will look to shift his focus on a potential unification bout with WBO champion Oscar Valdez. Both Valdez and Warrington compete under the Top Rank banner in some capacity.
