Updating Unpaired Apple Watch 7 GPs to I Phone 14 Pro Max

I am in a fix...I have accidentally unpaired my new i Phone 14 Pro Max from my Apple Watch 7 GPS. The phone is fully updated. the watch is missing the latest update. The phone is refusing to pair with the watch. My challenge is if I delete my data on my watch I am going to lose data from recent critical sports activity.

the phone will not allow me to pair the watch until I have updated the software.

Is their a workaround or will I lose my vital data by having to wipe the watch and start again?