Josh Warrington admits he thought his career was over before Leigh Wood rematch

Former champion says Anthony Cacace defeat left him questioning retirement before Nottingham return

Josh Warrington says he believed his career was over after losing to Anthony Cacace. Now he faces Leigh Wood in a rematch that could determine whether he still belongs at the elite level.

Warrington said he “mourned” his career after that loss, and that choice of words told you how hard it hit him. It sounded like a fighter who felt the air leave the room, like he knew the belt nights were behind him.

He cleared his head, got back in the gym, and returned in April 2025 to outpoint Asad Asif Khan over the distance. He stayed busy, boxed behind the jab, kept his feet under him, and did what a former titleholder is supposed to do against that level.

Warrington admits career doubt

The rematch with Wood now gives him a direct route back into relevance, but it also reopens the memory of how suddenly things changed in their first meeting. Warrington had built a lead through pressure and volume before Wood ended the fight with a single right hand in the seventh round. The finish did more than produce a stoppage.

Wood enters the rematch from a similar stage in his career. Both fighters have suffered losses to Cacace since their first encounter, and neither has rebuilt enough momentum to remove uncertainty about how much they have left. That reality removes the safety net that once existed earlier in their careers, where setbacks could be absorbed without threatening their long-term standing.

Warrington has insisted he can make the necessary adjustments, stating he does not expect Wood to present anything dramatically different from their previous fight. That confidence reflects familiarity, but familiarity does not guarantee security. Wood has already proven he can end the fight suddenly, and that outcome remains present every moment they share the ring again.

This rematch is less about rivalry and more about survival at the elite level. Warrington has already experienced the emotional reality of believing his career was finished once before. A second decisive loss would make it harder to justify continuing, and fighters rarely recover their position after reaching that stage twice.

Leigh Wood and Josh Warrington will fight in a rematch this Saturday at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, England. The bout will be broadcast live on DAZN.

The first fight changed how Warrington was viewed. The rematch will decide whether that change becomes permanent.