Josh Warrington has lost his IBF world title by majority decision to Luis Alberto Lopez in a gruelling slug-fest.
'The Leeds Warrior' was back in action in front of his raucous home crowd at the First Direct Arena in Leeds and was hoping a win over Lopez would set up a world title unification with domestic rival Leigh Wood.
But the home favourite fell to the second defeat of his career along the distance, with judges scoring the contest at 114-114, with the winning cards 115-113, 115-113 to Lopez. Warrington raised his hand at the final bell, but it was Lopez who saw his hand raised in devastating fashion to end Warrington's chances of unification.
A lively start looked to be key for Warrington who was certainly not worried about exchanging in centre ring with his opponent in the opener. His nose was bloodied in the lively first three minutes with the local featherweight knowing he had a tough evening on his hands.
It was a familiar sight for Warrington who was warned over an accidental looking clash of heads in the second period, which left his rival with a cut on his left eye as he received a time out. Despite shades of his previous stopped fight with Mauricio Lara, the showdown continued despite his rival's appeals.
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The fight settled down in the third and fourth round with both men happy to trade although Warrington was struggling to match the energy and volume of shots from his rival. Things picked up for the home favourite in the sixth as he landed some thumping shots flush on his rival who was beginning to box with confidence.
In a champion's response, Warrington rallied in an impressive ninth round as he sensed the tide was turning, and stunned his opponent in the penultimate round with some big pummelling shots. The final stanza saw Warrington desperately trying to gain the upper hand on the scorecards unloading with a relentless onslaught, but Lopez survived until the final bell and grabbed the title.
Warrington now appears to have missed out on a huge world title unification clash with Wood, who was ringside as a pundit for 'The Leeds Warrior's upset defeat in front of his home crowd. It was expected the showdown would be held in Nottingham on alternative soil, but he may now take his show on the road despite the loss.
