By Stephen Wilkinson: This Saturday night sees unbeaten Featherweight Josh Warrington (23-0, 4 KO’s) headline a stacked card in his hometown of Leeds against Irish fringe contender Patrick Hyland (31-2, 15 KO’s).
Warrington, who has a future showdown with IBF kingpin Lee Selby firmly on his radar, is sure to expect a hard night’s work against the tough Hyland and cannot afford any complacency if he wishes to fulfill his world title aspirations. Hyland has himself recently challenged for world honors, falling to a 2nd round TKO defeat to Gary Russel Jr for the WBC Featherweight strap.
The 25 year old Warrington has been busy planning his August wedding but insists Hyland has his full attention. “There’s a lot at risk against Patrick but that’s how it should be,” said Warrington via Ring.com. “I’ve seen how he fights and I know I’m not going to have to go looking for him. He comes to fight”.
Warrington has very good technical skills but lacks concussive one punch power. For that reason alone he is almost guaranteed a hard night against the tough Hyland. Hyland is going to be in front of him looking for an opportunity to test Warringtons chin and make it a difficult evening for him.
This fight is more than just a stay busy fight for Warrington. On paper he should have more than enough to outbox Hyland and look impressive in doing so. World title fights may be just around the corner but this Saturday is another chance to raise his profile even further, headlining a card which is good enough to make sure plenty of casual fans watch with interest. An impressive performance in front of a large audience this weekend can be another big step towards a potential showdown against Selby at Elland Road next year.
Being impressive on Saturday is key for Warrington, and for those purposes Hyland is the perfect opponent. Hyland has fallen short in his previous meetings with world level operators, dropping a unanimous decision to Javier Fortuna before being blasted out by Gary Russel Jr in his last outing. He does bring a decent level of name recognition, is sure to bring great support with him to Leeds and will pose serious questions of Warrington should he in fact be overlooking Hyland. Hyland has shown great resilience and an iron chin in the past despite the Russel Jr defeat, although in fairness in the absence of Lomachenko Russel Jr is the undoubted number one in the division.
Warrington has an opportunity in this fight to do so much more than just keep active. Being so close to the prize should keep Warrington sharp and he has the ability to make a real statement. With his home support behind him I see him wearing Hyland down and possibly even stopping him in the second half of the fight.
A stacked undercard finds Luke Campbell facing former world champion Argenis Mendez in what should be a cracking fight. Tyrone Nurse will be defending his British junior welterweight title against Tommy Coyle, while heavyweight rivals Dillian Whyte and Dave Allen finally meet in a highly anticipated grudge match, Josh Wale fights for the Commonwealth junior featherweight title against unbeaten Gamal Yafai and Belfast fighter Ryan Burnett will also be on the card.