Josh Warrington would welcome a rematch with Carl Frampton but only if the Northern Irishman won a world featherweight title.
Warrington capped a breakout year by following up his surprise victory over Lee Selby last May, when he wrenched the IBF crown from the Welshman, by outpointing Frampton in December to retain his belt in another upset.
Defeat in a highly-entertaining bout left Frampton contemplating retirement but he decided to carry on and has his sights set on challenging WBO title holder Oscar Valdez after signing a co-promotional deal with Top Rank.
Warrington is intent on establishing a legacy within the 126lbs division so would only countenance a repeat of his punishing 12-round battle against Frampton if his rival were to win world honours again.
“Maybe I should have got chinned then I would have got that opportunity,” Warrington quipped when asked what he thought of the former two-weight world champion linking up with Top Rank.
“Good for Carl, I guess, good to see him going on. Hopefully he can get a big fight, get a world title and if he does then hopefully we can get a rematch down the line.
“I’d happily give him a rematch as long as he’s got a world title.”
Frampton’s new promotional deal means his fights will be shown on ESPN platforms in the United States.
Asked whether he would like to follow his rival’s lead, Warrington added: “If that means I’d get a fight in the States against one of the other champions, then yeah.
“I’m quite open to anything and anything that will lead me to a fight with one of the other world champions.
“It’s gone beyond making history for myself, my family, my friends and my city, now it’s creating a legacy for the country.
“I could go down as one of the country’s greats in terms of featherweight or maybe even one of the country’s best fighters in all the divisions.
“We’ve had a few world champions recently but we don’t have many unified champions and I believe I can do that.”
Before any potential unification bouts later this year, Warrington will take on mandatory challenger and fellow Yorkshireman Kid Galahad on June 15 at the Leeds Arena.
