AFTER a breakthrough year, in which he beat Lee Selby and Carl Frampton, Josh Warrington could be on track to defend his IBF featherweight title against a rival Briton in Sheffield’s Kid Galahad.

The IBF had installed Galahad as Warrington’s mandatory challenger. Matchroom have pulled out of negotiations for the fight so they could go straight to purse bids.

In a statement the IBF said: “The IBF has ordered a purse bid for the mandatory defense of the Featherweight title between Champion Josh Warrington and #1 ranked contender Kid Galahad. Warrington was ordered to negotiate with Galahad on January 7, 2019. On January 12, the IBF received a written certification from Eddie Hearn on behalf of Kid Galahad and Matchroom Boxing indicating that they were no longer willing to participate in negotiations and requested an immediate purse bid pursuant to IBF Rule 10A. The purse bid for this bout will take place on Thursday, January 24, 2019 at 12 Noon.”

Josh Warrington vs Kid Galahad