Josh Warrington wants unifications with Valdez and Santa Cruz

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IBF featherweight world champion Josh Warrington wants to unify further world titles but first will be forced to make a mandatory defence against Kid Galahad.

Promoter Frank Warren has won the purse bids for that fight and it is expected to be screened on BT Sport.

It means a detour for Warrington, who after thrilling wins over Lee Selby and Carl Frampton had been looking to major clashes with WBO champion Oscar Valdez or WBA ruler Leo Santa Cruz.

“I’m involved with a guy who wants to fight the best and the best are Santa Cruz and Valdez,” Frank Warren told Boxing News.

He also insists that Warrington deserves credit, not least from this magazine. “How on earth is that fight with him [Warrington] and Frampton number 10 [in Boxing News’ fights of the year]. It’s levels, we’re talking about world class level, behind a fight that wasn’t even on TV,” the promoter said. “I’m talking about world class levels, I don’t get that.”

“I know when I see a good fight and a quality fight between two individuals,” Warren added. “I know what I’m talking about because I’ve been doing this every day and I’ve been doing it for a long time.”

(It’s worth noting that Boxing News did have Warrington as the British fighter of the year and in the top three international fighters of the year.)

Intriguingly Carl Frampton could be persuaded to fight on, but would only go straight into a big fight. “Frampton wants to comeback and he wants meaningful fights so we’re working on it,” Warren said. “We’ll see what happens.”