Leeds Warrior Josh Warrington has dismissed claims that he does not want to fight IBF World Featherweight Champion Lee Selby and is hopeful of securing the showdown in his hometown.
The domestic rivals have been embroiled in a war of words for nearly a year now, and Warrington is targeting the Welshman after his next bout at the First Direct Arena on May 13th.
“Why would I not want to fight him? He’s got a World Title, there’s a bit of needle in there. Of course I want to fight him,” the 26-year-old told BoxNation. “People are saying ‘you bottled it against Selby, you don’t want to fight him’. Listen, I’ve dreamt about him - I want to fight him!”
Last May, Selby took to his personal website to allege that Warrington had “lost his bottle” at the thought of facing him, a claim swiftly dismissed by Warrington’s team.
“To fight here [in Leeds], against him, for a World Title...of course I want to do that! That gives me a little bit more incentive to get through May 13th in style,” he said.
Warrington, unbeaten in 24 contests, is relishing the prospect of settling the score with Selby and having the chance to become a World Champion.
“It wasn’t really personal but it’s been made that way by his team, getting nasty on social media,” he continued. “If someone calls you a mug on telly or on camera, then you want to punch them in the face! That’s what I want to do with him!”
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