Josh Warrington admits his time at the top is over if he loses IBF featherweight title bid against Kiko Martinez

Warrington will aim to win back the IBF featherweight title he vacated last year and become a world champion for a second time.

Martinez, who won the belt in Sheffield against Kid Galahad in November, has given the Leeds Warrior a shot at his crown and is keen to get one over on Warrington, after losing to him when they met at the Leeds Arena five years ago.

Warrington was in line to fight Can Xu in a featherweight unification bout in 2020, in a contest which was set to be for the IBF, WBA and Ring Magazine belt.

With so many sanctioning bodies and world titles available, the Ring Magazine title is seen as the signifier of the very best fighter in the division.

After the Covid-19 pandemic and his first career loss, Warrington’s ambitions have taken a setback but tonight he can put his career firmly back on track.

However, a second professional loss would likely spell the end of his time at the top of the sport and he admits “everything is at stake”.

“It is the biggest fight of my career. Truthfully, my dreams of returning to the top are gone [with a loss],” Warrington told the YEP.

“I don’t want to be waiting around for another opportunity, I don’t want to just train and train and hope that something, like an opponent getting injured, might happen so I get the call.

“I don’t want it to be like that. I worked hard climbing and getting to the top of the mountain.

“I took a gamble vacating the belt and what happened, happened and I lost my position of power.

“I know it is a chance to redeem myself now and get back. Having that world title belt is key because you are calling the shots.

“That goes away if I don’t win. Everything is at stake.”

He added: “At the back end of 2019 I was loving the sport, I was top of the world. But I had 15 months out then just took a little tickover fight and ended up getting knocked out.

“The rematch, there was rehab, questions about whether I was still there and had I lost it? The camp was enough to beat Lara but it wasn’t the best camp. What happened happened in the fight.

“But as I got back in the gym and started camp, I had the bit between my teeth like I had of old, like I was on the way up. I’m loving it and I can’t wait for fight night.

“Some boxing experts are saying ‘he’s seen better days’, I thrive off that and I want to show them wrong. Physically I’m in really good condition and mentally confidence is through the roof.”

The contest at the Leeds Arena is the first in the venue since Warrington defeated Frenchman Sofiane Takoucht there in October 2019.

“The noise will always be there. It has been two-and-a-half years since we boxed at the Arena,” he added.

“It is the 11th time I have been there and it is a chance for everyone to see some history repeated.

“Everyone coming knows the stakes, how much it means and how much is riding on this. They are certainly going to make themselves heard on Saturday night.”