By Declan Taylor
SUPER featherweight newcomer Josh Warrington may have to put on a few more pounds but he has hailed the ‘incredible’ victory of trainer Sean O’Hagan, who has lost eight stone.
Warrington will make his 130lb debut at Wembley on Saturday 21 September to challenge Anthony Cacace for his IBF title.
But while the Leeds Warrior was bigger than ever during the week, O’Hagan has lost weight rapidly following gastric bypass surgery.
And Warrington, a former two-time IBF featherweight champion, said the dramatic weight loss had transformed his father’s life – and made ordering team uniforms much easier.
Warrington said: “He lost eight stone, which is almost as much as me. It’s unbelievable. He had a gastric bypass so he had about 80 per cent of his stomach removed.
“He is surrounded by professional athletes day in and day out and he knows what to do. He knows about discipline and he tells us about it. He knows about nutrition and food because he comes from a training background.
“But I have never seen him weigh less than 18st. As you get older, your motivation to lose weight lessens but he was at a stage in his health where he was in pain and constantly going to the doctor, taking a lot of medication.
“So he had a gastric bypass and it changed his life. He would say it himself – he was greedy and never felt full. He used to be able to eat fish, chips, mash, sausages, bread and butter, and polish it all off. Now he can eat a child’s portion and be full after half of it.
“It’s amazing, he’s off the medication now, changed his ways and is eating much healthier. It’s great to see him.
“When we get team T-shirts, I used to ask him what size he wanted. He would ask for a 4XL and it would come up and he would say it was too big. Now, he can just get regular T-shirts. It’s great.”
