On March 28, the 31-year-old middleweight thought he'd done that when outpointing Nathan Heaney over 10 rounds.

That result persuaded Heaney the time had come to call time on his career but, before retiring, he set his heart on evening the score with Warburton.

The rematch takes place at Birmingham’s bp pulse LIVE Arena on Saturday, live on DAZN.

Despite winning the first fight, Warburton (17-2-2, 2 KOs) goes into Saturday's rematch as a bigger B-side.

The fight is billed as Heaney vs. Warburton. His ring entrance will be overshadowed by Heaney’s trademark Delilah rendition and his own pocket of supporters vastly outnumbered by the large traveling contingent from Stoke.

“No, it doesn't bother me,” the Welshman told The Ring.

“I'm used to always being the guy in the background as people think I’m just there to make up the numbers but I've always proven different people wrong.

“I love an away day. I’ve always boxed as an away fighter so I've got nothing to prove to anyone. There’s no stress on me, it's always on my opponent because they're putting bums on seats. They’re the ones that the promoters are backing money into and hoping they just beat me, but it doesn't seem like it's happening for them.”

There are benefits to going over old ground against Heaney.

In May 2025, Warburton got himself into position to challenge Kieron Conway for the British middleweight title. Things didn’t go well and he suffered a fourth-round stoppage.

Beating Heaney (19-2-1, 6 KOs) completely overshadowed that result and allowed him to re-invent himself. Rather than frustration at being cast in the same role or pricing himself out of the rematch, he leapt at the chance to perform in another high-profile spot.

“When you look at British fights, I think, for the build-up and the atmosphere, these are the fights you definitely want to be a part of,” he said.

“To do it again, get the public views and obviously be a massive part of his ring walk and things, you can't really say no.

“It wasn’t like the last time was a close fight — eight rounds to two — so I just believe that I can definitely box a little bit better than I did. I’m just going to be that extra 50 percent better this time.”

Heaney’s popularity is such that he could have boxed literally anyone in his farewell fight and thousands would have bought tickets to watch.

He hand-picked Warburton and is desperate to ensure he leaves the sport on a high. Unfortunately for Heaney, Warburton is equally desperate to get another win and finally move on.

“Don't get me wrong, he's going to try and bring the best to go out with a bang but it's the end of his career and it's what he wants out of his last fight,” he said.

“Hopefully he can try and go out with a bang but there's someone else there that's looking to try and make a big statement, so good luck to him.”