Josh Warrington says featherweight Lee Selby has nowhere to go
Wednesday 27 July 2016 23:37, UK
Josh Warrington has told Lee Selby he has "nowhere to go" and would still happily fight him at the end of the year.
Warrington takes on Patrick Hyland in Leeds on Saturday night, live on Sky Sports, looking to move a step closer to a world title challenge.
Selby, the IBF world featherweight champion, has said in the past he would put his belt on the line in an all-British showdown with Warrington, but it seems unlikely to happen at the moment.
The 'Welsh Mayweather' has labelled Warrington 'chicken' after a proposed summer fight at Elland Road fell through.
But Warrington is ranked No 1 by the WBC and with current champion Gary Russell Jr - who defeated Hyland in two rounds in April - likely to move up, the 'Leeds Warrior' is ready to go down another route.
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"I really don't know what to make of him," he told Sky Sports when asked about the latest social spat with Selby.
"Rewind to earlier this year and he was all about America and just conquering over there and had no interest whatsoever in fighting me, but then he put in a bit of a sketchy performance against Eric Hunter and got put on his backside and on the back of that, he's been wanting to fight me.
"We were looking at Elland Road and that was what we were working towards, but he kept changing his mind each week.
"That could still happen if Selby still wants it but obviously he wanted it before this. Maybe he needed a pay day after his last two performances. Now he's got nowhere to go, so he's started spouting his mouth out at us."
Warrington is due to be married next month and with the failure to secure a summer showdown with Selby, he still thinks the IBF fight can take place at the end of the year.
An outdoor fight at Elland Road is unlikely to happen but with Selby now turning his attentions to the winner of this weekend's fight between Leo Santa Cruz and Carl Frampton, his rival wants to see him make a decision.
"We said we'd fight him before Christmas and we would sign the contract tomorrow if it was at the end of the year, give it a big build-up," Warrington said.
"Instead of a response we just got slated on social media. I didn't think that was a way to behave, especially if you're a champion, but that's the sort of guy he is.
"Now he says he wants the winner of Santa Cruz or Frampton, so that means he will have to sit and wait - and it's not automatically certain it will happen anyway.
"Santa Cruz has already talked about moving back down to super-bantamweight, but there's no guarantee Carl Frampton would fight him if he wins on Saturday.
"I think he should be fighting again, round this time, defending his title again but he's getting nowt. He's not fighting, he's not getting paid, he's got a picture in his head and it's not going the way he wanted it. He needs to realise that."
