Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Josh likes Bielsa as ring-man
IF Josh Warrington wins back his IBF world featherweight title on Saturday, he will ask former Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa to carry his belt into the ring ahead of his first defence.
Warrington, 31, was as gutted as many Leeds fans when Bielsa was sacked earlier this month.
And he would be thrilled to give the Argentinian an opportunity to to say farewell to the Elland Road faithful if he comes through his clash with Kiko Martinez in Leeds at the weekend. Warrington said: “It would have been an absolutely huge honour to have him there on Saturday but I’ve nowt for him to carry this time.
“He’d just be walking out alongside me.
“But if I was to win the belt it’d be a huge honour to have him there next time, just to have him back and give him a proper send-off. Whether it meant him getting in the ring before or after the fight, it would be brilliant, so let’s see what happens.”
Saturday’s fight at the First Direct Arena is the second meeting between Warrington and Martinez, with the Yorkshire favourite winning their first battle five years ago.
He added: “We had a good ding-dong and I knew in beating him that I could go on and win a world title.”
During the build-up to his clash with Martinez, Warrington joined forces with the charity StreetDoctors in a bid to help educate young people in how to respond to knife attacks. He added: “Knife crime is a growing problem, not just in Leeds but nationwide. I came across StreetDoctors and what they do, and it’s not often kids get to learn first aid, let alone what to do if one of their friends gets knocked out or stabbed.
“It sounds gruesome but you can’t sweep under the carpet that things like this happen. If people do get caught in such scenarios we then need to make sure they know what to do.”