Seven months ago, Josh Warrington laid down his gloves in the centre of the ring at Wembley Stadium.

A tame, frustrating decision defeat to former IBF super featherweight champion, Anthony Cacace, persuaded Warrington that the time had come to to walk away from the sport that has given him so much.

Such a big decision was always going to take more thought than that and after watching the fight back and analysing why he hadn’t been able to pull the trigger, the two-time IBF featherweight champion picked the gloves back up and got back in the gym.

On Saturday, Warrington, 32-4-1 (8 KOs), outpointed the resilient Indian, Asad Asif Khan, 19-7-1 (5 KOs), in Sheffield.

Yes, Khan operates a couple of steps below the level Warrington is used to competing at but the ten round unanimous decision was the 34 year old’s first win since he stopped Kiko Martinez to regain his prized IBF title back in 2022 and his most straightforward night’s work since he blew away Sofiane Takoucht in a couple of rounds more than five years ago.

Warrington hasn’t decided to put his body back through the mill so that he can rack up a series of victories against the likes of Khan but, after the fight, he told Matchroom that it felt good to feel like a winner again.

“It’s nice to get the arm raised,” he said. “Am I disappointed and frustrated with myself? Yeah, just a little bit. I felt that any one punch or combination could have potentially ended the show sooner, but it's 10 quality rounds under my belt. Obviously a bit rusty, but I've gone through some right demons just to get back here. I know that sounds silly coming from a former two-time world champion, but this is a mental game at times. It’s good to be back.”

Warrington would dearly love the opportunity to become a two weight world champion but knows that he will need to earn the right to fight for a belt. Fortunately for him, there are a number of major domestic clashes which would draw plenty of attention and also manoeuvre him closer to the top of the 130lb division.

Warrington will have a close eye on the upcoming fight between Cacace and Leigh Wood. Although a rematch with the Irishman appears to be a non-starter, a return with Wood would still generate plenty of heat. two-time WBA featherweight champion, Wood, came from behind to score a controversial seventh round knockout of Warrington back in October 2023 and the rivalry would quickly crank back into gear if a deal were agreed.

More immediately, all signs seem to point to a future fight between Warrington and Belfast’s Michael Conlan.

Conlan recently got his own comeback underway with a decision win over Khan and although it was announced that his next opponent would be European featherweight champion, Cristobal Lorente, momentum has definitely begun to build behind a 130lb fight with Warrington.

“Yeah, most definitely. I'm not going to be a bell. He's got a fight he's got to concentrate on, he's looking at the European,” Warrington said when asked about the fight.

“Let him get out there, then we'll talk, but I'll be straight back to gym on Monday, get some things worked on and we'll go from there.”