His father and trainer, Sean O’Hagan, had suffered a heart attack while in Dubai a few hours before another of his fighters, Maxi Hughes, was due to box on a show there.

O’Hagan woke up early that morning and was alarmed by shooting pains across his chest. Although he had been well enough to take himself to hospital after the attack, he required immediate surgery and had four stents fitted.

Warrington – back home in Leeds and 10 weeks out from his pivotal rematch with Leigh Wood on Saturday night in Nottingham, England – felt the unmistakable surge of panic and worry for his stricken dad. Then the feelings changed.

“I’ll be honest with you,” Warrington told The Ring. “I was just very annoyed with him at that point. Obviously, there is the panic and worry, but once I found out he was in hospital getting sorted I knew he was probably in the best place in the world. But I was annoyed with him more than anything because he’s surrounded by professional athletes day in, day out. He knows how to cook, what he should be eating, how to keep a healthy and active lifestyle.

“But in the same breath, he doesn’t do it himself. I understand he’s not a boxer who has to make weight, but it’s about taking care of yourself. But he was lucky he was able to pinpoint the problems when they first came about and get straight to the hospital. Obviously, they’re a few hours ahead in Dubai, so it was the middle of the night when I got the phone call. Once I knew he was alright, I went back to sleep!”

It was still the early stages of camp for Warrington, who takes on Nottingham’s Wood at Motorpoint Arena in the long-awaited rematch of their controversial first encounter in October 2023 (DAZN; 7 p.m. GMT; 2 p.m. ET). There had been some early concerns on what the situation might mean for O’Hagan’s role in the rest of his son’s preparation, but Warrington insists it has been a case of business as usual.

“We were worried about him getting home in the first place, but that all went OK,” Warrington said. “I said to him that if he needed to take a step back in camp because of it, he seemed offended. He’s certainly sunk his teeth into this camp to make sure we’re successful. He’s had a scare, but now he’s just taking life by the horns. He has said that he wants to get stuck into everything even more now, make sure we do the business on February 21.

“He’s been in the gym for every session. He has got a couple of the other coaches involved just in case anything does happen. Fair play to him for acknowledging that maybe in the past he has been a bit selfish, kept things to himself and not discussed it. But now we’re making sure everyone knows what we’re going for, what the plans are and everything else associated with the fight. So, if anything was to happen again, going forward we all know what is required on the night.”

Things had been going well for Warrington (32-4-1, 8 KOs) in his first fight with Wood (28-4, 17 KOs) and all three judges had him well ahead at the halfway point of the fight. But everything changed in the final moments of the seventh round, when he was dropped heavily by a hard combination as the bell sounded to end it.

Warrington rose to his feet on unsteady legs and made his way back to his corner as referee Michael Alexander continued counting. Warrington, back turned, was preparing for his 60-second break, yet turned around to find the official waving the fight off.

The 35-year-old Leeds native called for an immediate rematch, but has had to wait two years and four months to right the wrongs of that night. Since then, he lost to Anthony Cacace and even retired from the sport completely late in 2024, albeit for only a few weeks.

Since the start of 2020, Warrington has won just one of his six 12-round fights and knows a second defeat to Wood could be terminal for his thrilling 17-year professional career. A victory, however, could set him on the path toward an unlikely attempt to become a three-time world champion.

“It’s crazy how boxing works,” Warrington said. “Everyone’s opinions change all the time and we’re always judged on our last fight, rightly or wrongly. But what’s most important is that a win puts me back in the driving seat, rather than in the backseat of the car. Whether that’s being an opponent for someone else or being forced to retire completely.

“I want to be in a position where I get to choose which direction I go in. Does a win here put me in line for a third world title? Who knows? All I know is that I’ve learned from what happened in the first fight and I won’t be making those mistakes again. Going off how camp has gone so far, I feel like there is still plenty of life in the old dog yet.”