By Ian S Palmer
There’s an intriguing domestic title fight in Leeds, England this Saturday, June 15th as unbeaten IBF World Featherweight Champion and hometown lad Josh Warrington takes on undefeated Qatari-born Kid Galahad of Sheffield. The 12-round bout will be shown on ESPN+ in America while fans in the UK and Ireland can catch it on BT Sport 1.Warrington won the title in his when he beat Lee Selby by split decision last May and then defended it against Carl Frampton by unanimous decision in December. Galahad’s last fight was an eight-round decision over Brayan Mairena.
The 28-year-old Warrington enters the contest with a perfect record of 28-0 with 6 Kos. Yes, that’s just six stoppages which means he’s not going to possess much of a threat to Galahad when it comes to power with a current knockout ratio of just 21 per cent. Warrington’s 5-feet-7-inches tall with a 67-inch reach. He turned pro back in 2009 and has boxed 217 rounds since then. As a pro, Warrington has also captured several regional and minor titles including the English, British, Commonwealth, European and WBC International Featherweight Titles.
As mentioned, this is a big domestic fight in the UK and that’s where Warrington has fought all his bouts. His most recognizable foes so far have been Frampton, Selby, Patrick Hyland, Rendall Munroe, Martin Lindsay, Hisashi Amagasa, Kiko Martinez and Dennis Ceylan. Warrington’s a fine boxer with a solid chin and heart. He may lack knockout power, but he managed to wobble Frampton a couple of times. He’s gone the distance in his last two fights but stopped two of the previous three opponents.
He’ll definitely be motivated again with another all-UK fight and will be determined to retain his belt.
As for Galahad, he’s 29 years old and was born Abdul Barry Awad in Doha,Qatar. He also enters the ring with a perfect record as he’s 26-0 with 15 kos. He’s certainly got more power then the champion as his current knockout ratio’s 58 per cent but he’ll quickly find out that Warrington’s has a solid chin. He’s also gone the distance in his last two outings but stopped all six of his previous half dozen opponents.
Galahad’s basically the same height as the champ and unfortunately his reach is unlisted. He turned pro back in 2009 and has boxed 151 rounds since.
Back in May of 2015 Galahad was handed a two-year ban for failing a drug test but the suspension was later reduced to 18 months. Since turning pro he’s won several minor and regional titles along the way such as the WBC International, British, European, and Commonwealth Super Bantamweight Titles as well as the IBF Youth Super Bantamweight Crown and the IBF Inter-Continental Featherweight Title. His biggest wins have come against Toka Khan Clary, Irving Berry, Jose Cayetano and Adeilson Dos Santos and Jason Booth. This is his first shot at a world title.
Prediction…
Warrington surprised a lot of people with his wins over Selby and Frampton and he looked quite impressive in them. He lacks Galahad’s power but has fine skills and is very aggressive with a good chin. He also has more experience against quality fighters than his challenger. Galahad also has good boxing skills but he’s a bit more methodical. The majority of his stoppages have come in the first half of fights but he can be a bit boring when he’s forced to go the distance. That shouldn’t be the case on Saturday though as Warrington will force him to fight. I’m expecting a close contest with Warrington retaining his belt likely by a decision.
