By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten IBF World Featherweight Champion and hometown lad Josh Warrington takes on southpaw Sofiane Takoucht of France in Leeds, England this Saturday, October 12th. 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 in May, 2019 and then defended it against Carl Frampton by unanimous decision in December and against Kid Galahad by split decision in his last outing in June. Takoucht last fought in June also when he beat Yesner Talavera on points over eight rounds.
The 28-year-old Warrington enters the contest with a perfect record of 29-0 with 6 Kos. Yes, that’s just six stoppages which means he’s not going to possess much of a threat to Takoucht when it comes to power with a current knockout ratio of just 20.7 per cent. However, he does have enough power to stop his opponents in their tracks. Warrington’s 5-feet-7-inches tall with a 67-inch reach. He turned pro back in 2009 and has boxed 229 rounds since. As a pro, he’s also captured several regional and minor titles including the English, British, Commonwealth, European and WBC International Featherweight Titles.
Warrington has fought all his bouts in his homeland with his most recognizable foes so far being Galahad, 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 three fights but stopped two of the previous three opponents.
As for Takoucht, he’s 33 years old and enters the ring with a record of 35-3-1 with 13 Kos. He’s not the hardest hitter either with a current knockout ratio of 33.3 per cent but he has a solid chin as he’s never been stopped. Takoucht’s three defeats came at the hands of Alexander Miskirtchian by majority and split decision in 2014 and 2011and to Guillame Frenois by unanimous decision for the French Featherweight title in 2009. His draw was a two-round technical affair with Ivan Ruiz Morote in 2013 in defence of his European Union Featherweight Crown.
Takoucht has an unlisted height and reach so we can’t compare him in size to Warrington. He’s boxed 244 rounds since turning pro in 2006 and along the way has won the IBF International Featherweight and European Union Featherweight Belts. He’s not really known outside of France and Europe and has fought limited opponents, many who had losing records when they entered the ring. He’ll be taking a step up in class against Warrington.
Prediction…
Takoucht is a veteran pro who realizes this is likely his one and only shot at glory and a world title so anything can happen. He’s been fighting a steady stream of Grade B opponents but has an eight-fight winning streak on the go all the same. Warrington surprised a lot of people with his wins over Selby, Frampton and Galahad and all three were pretty close battles. Not much is known about Takoucht but I expect Warrington to retain his belt.
