Former IBF featherweight champion Josh Warrington rcommented his lost against Mauricio Lara of Mexico at SSE Arena at Wembley.
Warrington believes that he would have had a much easier time if he simply focused on boxing instead of trading punches with a puncher.
“I went to hospital on Saturday night, just as a precaution, and passed all the tests. It was the first time I have been down and touched the canvas as a professional,” Warrington told The Sun.
“I’ve got a fracture on my jaw and some swelling around my lips but that is to be expected when you trade with a big-punching Mexican. Congratulations to Lara, he grabbed his opportunity. Looking back, I should have boxed more clever and made it easy for myself.”
Warrington’s corner, and the referee, are now taking a lot of heat for not stopping the fight in the fourth round.
“I was hurt and down in the fourth but I was always conscious and never felt like I couldn’t carry on, even though I was stumbling. I went down again in the ninth but I told the referee that I was getting up. But he told me I wasn’t and it was all over,” Warrington said.
“I will take some time now to recover. I was out of the ring for 15 months but I had been training all the way through, waiting for a date, and that was difficult. I still believe I can fulfil my dreams of more world titles. There are still big fights out there and hopefully I can look back at this as just a bump in the road.”
