Boxing Results: Josh Warrington’s Dubious Tactics And Weary Performance Secure Decision Win Against Hearty Asad Asif Khan

Former two-time featherweight champion Josh Warrington (32-4-1, 8 KOs) snapped a three-fight losing streak to defeat veteran Asad Asif Khan (19-7-1, 5 KOs) by a tougher-than-expected 10-round unanimous decision on Saturday night at the Park Community Arena in Sheffield, England.

(Credit: Mark Robinson)

The scores were 99-89, 99-90, and 97-91.

Khan looked like he was going to fold by the midpoint of the contest, but he came back and fought reasonably well from the seventh round. He was pressing Warrington, landing occasional lead right uppercuts thrown from the outside. In the last four rounds, Josh looked tired and did a lot of holding.

Khan looked like the stronger fighter from the seventh round on, pressing Josh and forcing him to hold. Warrington’s power was gone, and he didn’t look comfortable with the tenacity that Khan showed. You could tell this Indian native really wanted to win, as he was fighting his heart out, and Warrington wasn’t expecting this kind of fight.

Illegal Blows

He was also throwing rebeated rabbit punches that seemed to he his primary weapon in his arsenal tonight. A lot of referees would have penalized Warrington for the use of that punch, but it was constant from the 34-year-old.

Warrington dropped Khan in the sixth round with a textbook-delivered right-hand rabbit punch to the back of his head. The referee didn’t see it. Later in the round, the referee penalized Khan for losing his mouthpiece. He lost his mouthpiece at least four times in the fight.

That was noticeable. The punches to the back of the head that Warrington was throwing should have led to at least two point deductions, if not more. I’ve seen a fighter get away with that many blatant rabbit punches before without getting penalized or disqualified.

Based on this performance from Warrington, it would be a bad idea for him to take on any of the top fighters at 126 or 130. The DAZN commentators were discussing the possibility of him challenging for a world title next. That’s crazy. With a 1-3 record in his last four fights, he doesn’t deserve to fight for a title. Warrington would be destroyed by any of the champions in either division. It wouldn’t be sporting.