On Friday afternoon, Josh Warrington will step onto the scales beneath the famous arch that loops over London’s Wembley Stadium and weigh in ahead of his fight with the IBF junior lightweight titleholder Anthony Cacace.
The last time Warrington weighed close to the junior lightweight limit was all the way back in 2011 when he scaled 129¼ pounds for a four-rounder with Steve Gethin at the Doncaster Dome.
How times change.
In those early days, Warrington would need to eat his way up to featherweight but although he was small, he and his team made the decision for him to compete at around 126 pounds and get used to fighting bigger, stronger men. Warrington matured and went on to become a two-time IBF titleholder and arguably the fittest, strongest featherweight in the world.
Over the years, the 126-pound weight limit became doable but increasingly difficult, and a move to 130 pounds became an inevitability.
Although the opportunity to fight Cacace came around relatively quickly, Warrington has certainly had time to build himself up to his new weight. He hasn’t boxed since losing to Leigh Wood last October.
Ordinarily, a 15-year-veteran moving up to a higher weight class on the back of a knockout loss would sound alarm bells, but Warrington appeared to be back to his marauding best until Wood put together what proved to be a fight-ending combination as the bell sounded to end the seventh round. The 33-year-old Warrington will go to his grave believing that he should have been allowed to sit on his stool and gather himself during the minute break rather than being stopped on his feet.
Four additional pounds may not sound a lot, but it translates to around two liters of water – a godsend during fight week – and makes an enormous difference to a fighter’s mood, energy levels and robustness throughout a long, stressful training camp.
Warrington (33-3-1, 8 KOs) knows his body, and after spending years depleting himself, he has recognized the benefits of having a few thousand extra calories worth of fuel.
“I think I’m feeling it now already.” he told BoxingScene. “Normally, I’d start feeling a bit weaker in sparring, but I’m feeling fucking bang-on. My diet has been really good – as it always is – but the weight seems to have dropped really easily.
“I don’t know if it’s down to training. I don’t know if it’s down to nervous energy, in terms of what’s on the line in the fight. But, yeah, I’m in a very good position.”
That nervous energy isn’t something that shows up on any tale of the tape or in any technical breakdown, but it is something that is as important to Warrington as a solid jab. He was at his ferocious best amid the red-hot atmosphere generated by his world title fights with Lee Selby and Carl Frampton but a shadow of himself during a subdued, behind-closed-doors loss to an unknown Mauricio Lara and during the first half of his IBF title defeat to Luis Alberto Lopez in 2022.
The prospect of fighting Cacace has reignited the spark that has been missing since he was given a fight with Kiko Martinez and the chance to regain his IBF title more than two years ago.
“I wasn’t scared of Wood,” Warrington said. “Regardless of what anyone said, I wasn’t scared of him. I didn’t fear him. Obviously, you fear losing, but I didn’t feel like he could hurt me.
“I didn’t feel like he could outbox me or anything like that, so I didn’t fear him in that sense, whereas I fear Cacace because I know he’s a big boy and I know he’s coming for a win, and it was a pretty impressive one over [Joe] Cordina.
“I’d say the last time [I felt this energy] was maybe Kiko Martinez II, because I’d been in there with Kiko before; or Mauricio Lara II, when I was having the rematch at Headingley [Stadium].”
Cacace, 35, has endured more than his fair share of bad luck and frustration. Having beaten Cordina to win the title, he has quickly become accustomed to life as a champion. After beginning to doubt whether he would ever reach this level, he will be determined to capitalize on his success.
Warrington rode the momentum generated by his title-winning night against Selby directly into that memorable win over Frampton. He knows just how difficult it could be to stem the tide this weekend, but he will happily do whatever it takes to make sure that his own career has a special ending.
“Cacace’s a new champion, and a new champion is always a dangerous man because they know what it’s like to be a champion and they don’t want to lose that,” he said.
“His career’s had a big resurgence, and he’s already told me he’s willing to do anything it takes to keep hold of that belt, so I know where we need to go and I’m already mentally prepared to go there. I know it’s not going to be nice, but it’s where I have to go to make sure I get the win.”
John Evans has contributed to a number of well-known publications and websites for over a decade. You can follow John on X @John_Evans79.
