Josh Warrington cruised to a dominant second-round knockout victory in his IBF world featherweight title defence against France’s Sofiane Takoucht in Leeds.

Warrington was determined to make amends for his scrappy split-decision victory over Kid Galahad in June and was expected to struggle against the veteran southpaw, who came into the fight with 35 wins from his 39 bouts.

But the Leeds fighter shone from the opening bell in front of his home crowd at the First Direct Arena and showed why he is one of the leading boxers at the nine-stone division.

Takoucht’s awkward style saw Warrington initially struggle for his range before the defending champion landed a flush right hand towards the end of the first round and it was one-way traffic thereafter.

Warrington increased the pressure in the second round as Takoucht hit the canvas twice after landing a pair of crushing right hooks before another onslaught saw the referee step in and wave off the fight.