Leigh Wood insists he could bring a happy conclusion to his career by taking advantage of rival Josh Warrington’s style on Saturday.
Wood (28-4, 17 KOs), 37, faces fellow former world featherweight champion Warrington (32-4-1, 8 KOs), 35, in a rematch at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, after stopping Warrington in Round 7 in October 2023.
Warrington believes their first fight was stopped prematurely, while Wood is upset with Warrington’s criticism of his Round 9 stoppage loss to Anthony Cacace in May last year.
As well as silencing Warrington in their non-title junior lightweight bout, Wood is also desperate to improve on the painful night vs. Cacace and possibly finish his career with a big win in front of his home-city fans.
“I’m winning this fight and that’s not underestimating him, but whatever way he wants to fight I will have an answer for it and the fight won’t last long,” Wood told ESPN.
“I’m not looking past this fight but it could be my last one, I will look at the landscape after the fight. I’m not really thinking about what could be next because I’m eyes on the prize right now.
“We don’t like each other, it is genuine. Whichever way he wants to do it, whether it is coming straight at me or he tries to box me, I’m prepared for it. He can alter his timing, but he can’t alter his style, and his style suits me. It’s all right for me.”
Wood’s trainer Ben Davison threw in the towel when Northern Irishman Cacace began to unload unanswered shots in Round 9 to seal a sickening defeat for Wood.
Wood, who had two reigns as WBA world featherweight champion from 2022 to 2023, says he is in better condition than he was for the Cacace fight which followed a 19-month layoff.
Warrington, a two-time IBF world featherweight champion (2018-2021, 2022), has lost three of his last four fights and even briefly retired in September 2024 after a stoppage loss to Cacace.
“I’ve had some good and bad nights at the Nottingham Arena, and the last fight didn’t really favour me stylistically,” Wood told ESPN.
“But this fight does favour me and I will look good. I had a massive layoff before fighting Cacace, I’d had a bad illness which I had for nine months, and I was moving up in weight. I’ve always faced challenges but with all of that combined maybe it was a step too far.
“I’m over the illness now and I’ve had a great camp. I’ve sparred really well and I’m not usually the best in sparring. I can’t wait to get in there and do a better job this time. I need to win this fight. He’s discredited me in some of the things he’s said, I will do a better job.”
Brendan Ingle lessons fresh in Leigh Wood’s mind
Wood is aiming to repeat the level of performance he achieved in wins over Can Xu, Michael Conlan, Mauricio Lara and Warrington. Wood’s career has been a slow burn, after turning professional at a leisure centre four miles outside Nottingham city centre where he fights on Saturday.
As his career nears the end, Wood acknowledges the influence of trainer Brendan Ingle on his boxing journey. Wood trained at a gym in Sheffield with Ingle, who recently has been portrayed in the film ‘Giant’ about his relationship with Naseem Hamed, who ruled as featherweight champion from 1995 to 2000.
“I’ve changed massively since my debut, and I’ve been through a lot,” Wood told ESPN.
“But Brendan Ingle said to me early on, you need to get your experience in and I’ve been through it, I’ve had highs and lows and come back from setbacks.
“I was with Brendan for about 10 years, he taught me many things and made me believe in myself and as well as boxing he taught me a lot of life lessons.
“There were some really good people passing through the gym when I was there, like Johnny Neslon, Kell Brook, Kid Galahad and Junior Witter. It was an unbelievable place to be at the time and learn your trade and Brendan used to give me some unusual training exercises. They were good lessons.”
