Josh Warrington: Pre-fight posturing can give a unique insight into an opponent

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You have got 12 rounds against someone you might not like very much but I have always respected my opponents because of the nature of the sport. It is very,very gruelling.

Lives get changed, a lot of the time for the better but sometimes for the worse. I respect every fighter who has stepped through the ropes because I know what it takes.

Only two of my fights have had a little bit of needle and they were the Lee Selby fight and the last fight with Kid Galahad.

The Selby fight had gone on for quite a long time, and there was some animosity there.

After the fight I said to Lee, let’s shake hands and call it quits. I wanted to carry that on into the changing rooms but he refused to see me. I was disappointed with that.

But I don’t have anything against him any more because that chapter is closed for me.

With Kid Galahad, I thought that all the things he said in the build up were to try and get under my skin and that there wasn’t any real feeling to it.

But the more it went on, the nastier he got. Normally I have respect for an opponent after a fight but I don’t really have too much respect for him.

Kid Galahad is the only opponent, if I were to see him out and about, I wouldn’t rush over to shake his hand and I certainly wouldn’t be going for a drink with him.

My final press conference for my fight with Sofiane Takoucht will be happening the week after next.

Each press conference is different because it all depends who you are coming up against.

When I boxed Hisashi Amagasa, he didn’t have a clue what I was saying. He was born and raised in Japan and he didn’t speak a word of English. So not much could be given in that build-up. But when you look at someone like Joel Brunker, who I fought back in 2015, and it was quite fiery and it spilled over into the weigh-in. You could see nerves, he kept on looking away while I was starring deep into his soul.

When you are fighting fighters from a similar culture, you can use the press conferences to your advantage.

But someone like Takoucht might not speak much English and you can’t really say much.

I can stare into his eyes and show I am in good physical shape at the weigh-in. But there is not much else I can do apart from look confident.

You can say certain things, I remember saying quite a lot to Lee Selby and quite a lot to Kid Galahad and even Carl Frampton to a certain extent. I remember looking Carl in the eyes when we had been weighed in and I said to him, ‘Are you ready for the war tomorrow?’ I am bringing everything’.

And it kind of geed him up and he said the same back to me. So I kind of thought I have got him here, he is well up for a scrap. If I can get him into it, he is going to stand and trade with me.

And the first two rounds it showed that I had got him up and then the rest of the fight went in my hands.

It is difficult when you have got language barriers and I am sure with Takoucht there won’t be much said, it will be more body language if anything. In the lead up to fights there is mostly excitement there but on fight day there is a bit of anxiety because everything is built up to that moment.

Everything that you have done in your career doesn’t matter because it all comes down to that next one.

It is a weird sport boxing because you can’t look at it like, ‘If I lose it’s all right, I have always got next week.

You have got to win to keep on progressing and keep on climbing that ladder.

So there is a bit of anxiety because it is the unknown.

Sunday will still come but will you be waking up that Sunday morning still undefeated and still a champion or will everything have come crashing down.

So there is a little bit of anxiety and a little bit of pressure but I have learnt to really enjoy that. And there is no other feeling like that when you walk into a venue on fight night because the next time you leave that venue, the business will have been done.

And the excitement is certainly there and I look forward to walking out in front of another packed-out Leeds Arena. I can’t thank my fans enough for the support they have shown me and I hope to give you all another great night on October 12.

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Tickets for the fight are available from the First Direct Arena. Call, 0844 248 1585 or visit www.ticketmaster.co.uk and firstdirectarena.com. Prices: £40, £50, £75, £100, £150, £200, £350 – Inner Ring Hospitality.