I'm absolutely gutted - Josh Warrington wants Mauricio Lara rematch

The Mexican suffered a cut to the eyelid early in the fight and the fight doctor refused to let him out for the third round, and the fight was called off.

That left Warrington frustated, unable to put right the defeat on his record after giving up his IBF featherweight title, and having failed to put on much of a show for the crowd.

Speaking to the BBC after the fight. Warrington said: "I’m confused, I don’t know what to say. Honestly, I could have burst into tears. I thought I’d caught him in the first round, a little nick there, and I thought I could keep on targeting that. 

"Then I dived in and heads clashed, and I don’t know what happened.

"I’m gutted, absolutely gutted."

Warrington had looked comfortably on top on Saturday night, a vast improvement on his performance in the first fight between the two, and was visibly distressed at the early finish to the fight.

"That’s the frustration. I sat down at the end of the first round and didn’t want to sound too confident, too cocky. I thought to myself, ‘How did this guy knock me out?’" he said.

"The only time I got caught in the second, maybe that’s a bit of a blessing, but obviously with the crowd I wanted to give them a show. We had a bit of a game plan. I’m lost for words.

"You go through a roller coaster of emotions in the dressing room. You start doubting yourself, you feel you are the number one in the world, ‘Am I good enough to beat him?’

"I know I can beat anyone you put in front of me. After that first round, I thought I’m seeing everything, I’ll dictate this fight, stop it whenever. I’ll weaken him down, I thought I’ll stop it in the sixth or seventh round."

There is speculation that Warrington may now look for another fight at featherweight or perhaps move up a class in order to find a big-name opponent, but the 30-year-old Briton still wants a rematch.

"I wanna get the W against him," he said.

"I want to get that one under my belt. We’ve got to see how long it will take to heal. I’ve had seven months out after the last fight, I’d like to be out. If he can get a quick turnaround we’ll have it."