At certain points in a fighter’s career comes a must-win bout.

But for Josh Warrington, a loss to Leigh Wood on Saturday probably will be the end of the road.

Warrington has come up from the small-hall scene to become not only one of the biggest fighters in the UK but one of the best boxers in the world in his division.

There has been no British featherweight in recent times, other than Prince Naseem Hamed, who could bring the crowds like Warrington.

He lost his IBF title to Luis Alberto Lopez in his last fight. There wasn’t a lot in it but Warrington did look below par and Lopez did probably do enough to win on points.

There are now question marks on how much Warrington has left in the tank. Is there one more big night in the sport for him? Or is he on the decline?

He has been written off and wants to prove people wrong. Even though Wood is champion, there is more pressure on Warrington. His career is on the line.

A domestic dust-up for boxing anoraks

This contest has gone under the radar to the general public, but for boxing anoraks – and for the cities of Leeds and Nottingham – this is a big fight.

The Sheffield Arena – as a neutral venue – has been chosen. There will be no home advantage and the arena will literally be split down the middle.

You can only imagine what the atmosphere is going to be like. I was very blessed with the support I received from the Manchester crowd – my home fans – when I was fighting in the city, and I believe it brought out that extra gear in me. In football terms, it was like having a 12th man.

There is no bad blood between Wood and Warrington. I was at the news conference announcing the launch of this fight. Wood’s daughter came over to Warrington and called him a muppet, his other daughter offered him a slice of their dad’s birthday cake.

It was all fun and games and there was a lot of respect. Boxing gets a bad name at times but these are two proper boxers who have done it the hard way.

There are no tables being thrown, no fake talk. I won’t be surprised if things get a little bit edgier as the fight comes up, that’s just because of how bad both fighters want to win.

But make no mistake, once that first bell goes, any kind of respect will go completely out of the window.

The key battle here is who can keep their heads in the red-hot atmosphere. Both lads have handled pressure unbelievably well in the past. Packed out in their home town, rising to the pressure put on them.

If anyone falls apart under the pressure or is overwhelmed during their ring walk it gives a massive advantage to their opponent.

Can Warrington take Wood to deep waters?

I remember Warrington from long before he was fighting on television, when he was boxing in leisure centres or at Leeds Town Hall. He’d drive around town selling tickets from his little banger of a car.

I sparred with him when I was still competing and know exactly what he brings to the table. I was one of very few predicting he would beat Carl Frampton and Lee Selby.

He is an unbelievably strong featherweight. He is not the biggest puncher, but he hits harder than his record suggests. Physically he is just very strong.

But if Warrington isn’t that same fighter he once was, there is every chance Wood will land and get the job done in the first half of the fight.

Or maybe Warrington will take Wood into deep waters. He is insisting he has made improvements since the Lopez loss. He’s physically so strong and may just drain Wood who is a big featherweight.

If Warrington is to win it, he will probably have to come from behind. He will believe he can get to Wood in the second half of the fight.

Punch-perfect Wood on a high

I see plenty of similarities between mine and Wood’s careers. Wood was always a talent and you heard good things about him in the gym, but he would fall short on fight night or on the big stage.

Like me, he had been written off a few times after losses and bounced back to win a world title. I had people telling me I wouldn’t make it, to leave boxing and take on another job. I was just about making ends meet, but I had that self-belief – I was very self-driven.

The doubters made the journey all that much sweeter when I got there. And then when you do get there, you don’t want to give it up that easy.

You can see that in Wood’s fight with Michael Conlan. He was having a torrid time – put down in the first round and having to contend with a cut to his eye. But he hung in there and won dramatically with a final-round knockout.

Wood does not ever want to give up. He does not become lackadaisical. He got knocked out by Mauricio Lara in February, then put in the most stunning performance in the rematch just a few months later.

Wood is undoubtedly coach Ben Davison’s biggest success story. How he has been transformed in recent years is just fantastic.

People forget that in the second fight Lara did not make weight. Plenty of people were saying he should not take the fight, but he had the belief to go out there and execute the gameplan.

I thought Wood was punch perfect. It was one of the best performances from a British boxer in the past 12 months.

I can make a case for both Wood and Warrington winning this. It could be Wood in rounds one to six, or Warrington late on in the fight.

If pushed for a prediction, I will go for Warrington to put in one more brilliant performance and become a three-time world champion.

Anthony Crolla was speaking to BBC Sport’s Kal Sajad.