Josh Warrington eager for return to action in front of a sold-out Headingley

It is arguably the biggest boxing occasion in Leeds since Warrington claimed the IBF featherweight title with a stunning win over Lee Selby at Elland Road. It is the first time the Leeds Warrior will have fought in front of a home crowd since October 2019.

Warrington tops the bill in his rematch with Mexican Mauricio Lara, aiming to put the first loss of his professional career well and truly behind him.

There are three fights before Warrington enters Headingley, that, on any other bill, would be the main event. Headingley has undergone a radical transformation to host the event, which had no issues in selling out.

Undisputed women’s lightweight champion Katie Taylor puts her titles on the line against Jennifer Han while Yorkshire’s Maxi Hughes will aim to become a world champion as he faces IBO lightweight king Jovanni Straffon. Conor Benn, the son of former two-weight world champion Nigel Benn, is also on the bill as Adrian Granados will look to take his WBA continental welterweight title.

Warrington’s headline bout with Lara is one of the most important of his career as defeat would leave him well out of contention for future world title fights.

“It will be nice walking out onto the pitch at Headingley with a lot of Leeds folk. It will be special with Marching On Together played, it will be great just to have people there,” said Warrington, as he looks to avenge February’s defeat to Lara.

“Walking out last time, it was a weird feeling. It will feel somewhat normal with pints going everywhere, a crazy atmosphere.”

Warrington has not let the prospect of defeat enter his mind.

“I just have to make sure I box as I can do, box as I know I can, box as I have been sparring. If you look down my resume, and look down Mauricio’s resume, he hasn’t been in with the same kind of class,” added Warrington, whose record stands at 30-1.

“When you look at the people I’ve beat over the years – boxers like Lee Selby and Carl Frampton, awkward fighters like Kid Galahad, fighters like Denis Ceylan, come forward fighters like Kiko Martinez.

“I’ve mixed with the world’s best with all different attributes and I don’t think Mauricio’s attributes line up to these.

“Whatever happened on February 13, it was just how I approached the fight with my mindset but this time it will be different.”

Given he was knocked down and knocked out for the first time in his professional career in February, Warrington is fully aware of the problems that Lara can cause him.

Entering the ring with the knowledge that his career at the highest level could be over with a second-straight loss means the Leeds Warrior is likely to be much more cautious compared to the first meeting between the pair.

“I don’t build him up as ‘the man who has beat me’ but I do build him up as someone who can potentially hurt me and do this and that,” continued Warrington.

“In the past, I’ve always built opponents like that and I’m expecting Mike Tyson, King Kong, to come to me and when the first bell goes and they’re not bringing that it is a bonus.

“I’ve built Mauricio as a dangerous fighter and someone who can cause a lot of damage, and I know he can cause a lot of damage anyways because he’s done it in the past.

“I’m not thinking back to old events, I’m just thinking of the game plan and that I stick to it, make sure I don’t get carried away with dropping my hands and coming back in straight lines, thinking I can throw shots from back here and get away with it.

“It tightens everything up when you have that bit of fear.”

Warrington admits he was late to the party when it came to supporting the Rhinos as he looks to get his career back on track in their stadium.

He added: “I will be honest, I was late to supporting the Rhinos. I’ve always had a huge amount of respect for the players and how the game is played.

“I think it is pretty similar to the boxing – they hit each other hard on the pitch but there is a lot of respect shown and the players are down to earth.

“Any time I’ve spoken to the players, they’ve always been very respectful.”