Kid Galahad wants unification fights against Emanuel Navarrete & Leigh Wood

By Boxing News - 08/09/2021 - Comments

By William Lloyd: Kid Galahad picked up the vacant IBF featherweight title with a spectacular 11th round stoppage win over James ‘Jazza’ Dickens last Saturday night, and he’s now ready to defend the belt before facing the other champions.

Galahad (28-1, 17 KOs) will be making a fast turnaround by returning to the ring in October or November to make a defense of his IBF 126-lb belt in Sheffield.

Although he would like nothing better than to face his nemesis, Josh Warrington, he doubts that’ll happen in a rematch. Former IBF 126lb champion Warrington (30-1, 7 KOs) claims he has “bigger fish to fry” in his rematch with Mauricio Lara on September 4th.

Warrington, 31, will have his career arguably on the line when he faces the 23-year-old hard-hitting Mexican knockout artist Lara at the  Headingley Rugby League Stadium in Leeds.

If Galahad, 31, wins his title defense in November, he wants to fight a unification against WBA ‘regular’ featherweight champion Leigh Wood (25-2, 15 KOs) or WBO champ Emanuel Navarrete (33-1, 18 KOs).

Galahad’s promoter Eddie Hearn wants to wait to see if the World Boxing Association strips WBA Super World 126lb champion Leo Santa Cruz and elevates Wood to the new Super champ, but that might not happen.

Kid Galahad signs multi-fight deal with Matchroom

“We plan to get Kid out in a voluntary defense in November and then move straight into unifications,” Eddie Hearn
told ESPN. “If the WBA moves Leigh Wood into Super champion, then that’s a big all-British fight, and we also love the {Emanuel} Navarrete matchup.”

Image: Kid Galahad wants unification fights against Emanuel Navarrete & Leigh Wood

Galahad reportedly signed a multi-fight promotional deal with Matchroom Boxing. In Galahad’s fight with Jazza Dickens last Saturday, he wasn’t signed with Hearn.

Now that he is, it’s going to be interesting to see what direction Hearn takes Galahad. Hearn seems pretty focused on matching Galahad against WBA ‘regular’ champion Leigh Wood, but we’ll have to see if that fight happens.

“We’re going to be champion for a long time,” said Kid Galahad to Behind The Gloves after capturing the vacant IBF 126-lb title last Saturday against Jazza Dickens.

“Now, I know I can’t leave anything for the judges. I’ve always go to bring my own referees and judges to the fight, and that’s it. It’s made me a better fighter, and I’ve learned from it.

“I’ve got the IBF title. If they fight me, they fight me,” said Kid Galahad in reacting to Eddie Hearn saying that the other fighters may avoid him now.

“If the unification fights don’t happen, I don’t care. I’m over the moon that Leigh Wood won the WBA regular title,” said Galahad. “He’s been in this game for a long time.

“Everything he did in that fight [against Xu Can] is what he learned in the Ingle gym. The switching, the defense, and everything else,” Galahad said.

Wood is obviously the easier target for Galahad to go after rather than facing WBO featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete. If Galahad wants to increase his chances of capturing another belt, the 33-year-old Wood is the direction to go in.

If Galahad fights Navarrete, it might be a step too far for him because that guy has a high work rate as well, but he has a lot more power. Navarrete is a taller, younger, and more powerful version of Galahad.

Galahad expects Warrington to avoid him

“He deserved to win that title,” Galahad said of Leigh Wood’s win over Can Xu. “The reason Josh Warrington got into the position he’s in is that the IBF would never regulate that title for a unification.

Image: Kid Galahad wants unification fights against Emanuel Navarrete & Leigh Wood

“I’m not going to sit here and say, ‘I want that fight’ because it’s never going to happen. I’ve got it [IBF 126-lb title], and I’m going to keep on winning, and we’ll see.

“Hopefully, if they elevate him [Wood], they elevate him. But I’m not going to be chasing a fight that’s not there like Josh Warrington, wasting my life.

“That’s what I’m saying, ‘Bigger fish to fry’ like [Mauricio] Lara, who flattened him,” said Galahad in responding to the comment made by Josh Warrington that he had “bigger fish to fry” elsewhere than fighting a rematch with Galahad.

“That’s bigger fish to fry, and I’ve got bigger fish to fry. What can I say? There’s nothing really to say.

“He’s saying he’s got bigger fish to fry, but who’s a bigger fish? Lara? No one even knew who Lara was or Can Xu, but he’s got bigger fish to fry.

“I’m not offended because if I boxed Josh Warrington, I promise you now, he would not go twelve rounds with me. I’m telling you now, he would get flattened, and he knows that.

“So he’ll try and avoid. ‘Oh, you know, I want to fight this guy. I want to fight Can Xu.’ Who is Can Xu? No disrespect.

“I’m not taking anything away from Leigh Woods’ win, but no one even knew who Can Xu was until Josh Warrington started to try and hype this guy up.

“The IBF wouldn’t even sanction the fight because they were saying, ‘They didn’t even know who he was.’ So listen, I’m the IBF champion.

“I don’t think he’s [Warrington] even number two in Britain, let alone he’s the bigger name and has bigger fish to fry. So we’ll see,” Galahad said.

At this point, Warrington is trying to save his career in his rematch with Mauricio Lara.

You can’t fault Warrington for not seeming enthusiastic about a rematch with Galahad, given that his career is about to implode.

Whether he wants to admit it or not, another knockout loss to Lara will pretty much be the end for Warrington.

Winning is all that matters for Galahad

“Let’s see, hopefully, in October, we can get another defense in Sheffield, so we’ll see,” Galahad said when asked when he plans on fighting next.

YouTube video

“Eddie said to get ready for October, so we’ll see. October at the Sheffield Arena. That’s what we want. Get a defense there, so we’ll see.

“That’s all I’m focused on is winning. If the unification fights happen, they happen. I’m focused on winning and doing my job.

“If these things happen, they happen. If they don’t, they don’t, but I’m not going to take my eyes off the ball and say, ‘I want this big fight or this.’ Rubbish.

“When it happens, it happens, and that’s it. You’re not going to win a world title and then get another one and another one.

“It doesn’t work like that. So, we’ll see just where we go from here. I’ll be ready for October, hopefully,” said Galahad.

Galahad only needs to keep winning to get the big fights, and eventually, he’ll face all the top guys at 126 and 130.

YouTube video