Josh Warrington closing in on Can Xu featherweight unification clash for early 2021

Josh Warrington has not fought since his clash with Sofiane Takoucht in 2019 defending his IBF title

Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has revealed that he is closing in on a deal for Josh Warrington to fight Can Xu for the unified featherweight world titles in early 2021 as part of Matchroom's opening three shows of the calendar year.

Warrington defended his IBF belt succesfully against Sofiane Takoucht in 2019, but has not fought since and has faced a year long hiatus from the ring as a result of the complications caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Hearn has revealed that he is uncertain of the finer details due to the uncertainty of crowd availability and venue's but is confident that a deal can be ironed out for Warrington to finally get his desired chance at becoming unified champion in the near future.

He said: “Josh Warrington is going to fight Can Xu. We are about to finalise the contract.

“We hope to announce our first three shows of next year and that will be one of them.”

Despite the negotiations close to being finalised, Kid Galahad who is currently mandatory for the IBF belt seems to still be part of the plans for the next year, in relation to the IBF belt.

"Kid Galahad is not really in the plans.

“So what will happen is against Can Xu, it will be for the WBA, IBF and Ring magazine titles and if he beats him, he will vacate the IBF title. It will then be Kid Galahad against Jazza Dickens, who is the next in line, for the IBF title.

“That’s the process we are working on at the moment.”

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