Josh Warrington ices Sofiane Takoucht, retains IBF belt

IBF featherweight champion Josh Warrington isn’t known for being a knockout puncher.

In 29 career fights, Warrington has starched a grand total of six opponents.

But Saturday night at First Direct Arena in Leeds, Eng, Warrington looked like a bona-fide slugger, stopping Frenchmen Sofiane Takoucht in the second round to retain his title.

The always aggressive Warrington (30-0, 7 KOs) came out fast in the opening stanza. He ate a few right jabs from Takoucht, but retaliated with combinations. Takoucht (36-4-1, 13 KOs) flashed his own combinations in round two, but Warrington was zeroing in on southpaw Takoucht’s kryptonite, the right hand.

Thirty seconds past the two-minute mark, Warrington left fly with the aforementioned right, knocking Takoucht to the canvas. Takoucht got up quickly with a surprised look on his face.

In 39 professional fights, he’s never been stopped. He probably figured the knockdown was a fluke.

Nope.

A combination sent Takoucht down for a second time. This time he didn’t looked surprised-just hurt.

With referee Bob Williams watching closely, Warrington went for the kill-eventually wobbling Takoucht which prompted Williams to wave the fight off. Takoucht didn’t complain.

The time was 2:54 seconds into round two.

“It’s nothing personal, but I think I took my frustration out on him,” said Warrington alluding to his last fight, a boring decision victory over Kid Galahad. “We’ll fight anywhere.”

Warrington last won by stoppage two years ago, but hey, statistics don’t always tell the true story.

As former champion Carl Frampton said last year, "Whoever says Josh can’t punch, they don’t know what they’re talking about."