Leigh Wood
Born (1988-08-01) 1 August 1988
Gedling, Nottinghamshire, England
Other namesLeigh-thal
Statistics
Weight(s)
Height5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Reach170 cm (67 in)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record[1]
Total fights31
Wins28
Wins by KO17
Losses3

Leigh Wood is an English professional boxer. He is a two-time world featherweight champion, having held the World Boxing Association (WBA) title between May 2023 and October 2023 and previously between 2021 and February 2023. At regional level, he held the Commonwealth featherweight title in 2019 and the British featherweight title in 2021.[2] As of December 2023, Wood is ranked as the world's best active featherweight by BoxRec,[3] first by The Ring magazine,[4] and first by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.[5]

Professional career

Early career

Wood fought Gavin McDonnell for the British super bantamweight title on 22 February 2014 but lost after the fight was stopped in the 6th round due to Wood being stunned and unable to defend himself. Wood put on an impressive performance and was in control of the fight after winning the first 5 rounds, but prior to the fight Wood had to lose weight for himself to make the weight limit for the fight and after a few rounds Wood was becoming tired.[6] After the loss to McDonnell, Wood had a comeback fight against Martin Mubiru and put in good performance and earned a 3rd-round TKO.[7]

Then after 3 more fights and 3 more wins at featherweight, he stepped up in class to box the man who took his former foe to a draw Josh Wale in a British title eliminator. Wood outboxed Josh Wale for the majority of the fight finishing with last 2 of the 10 rounds with eye catching combinations and powerful right hands, winning the fight unanimously on all 3 scorecards.[8]

Wood's next fight was a redemption fight for the Midlands Area featherweight title against Lee Glover who beat Wood in the Amateurs 7 years prior. Wood came out in the first round pot shooting and making Glover miss before landing some big punches before the bell. The second round went the same way, finally Wood stopping Glover with a big left and perfectly picked flurry of punches, sending Glover to the canvas and not making the count.[9]

Wood faced Abraham Osei Bonsu for the vacant Commonwealth featherweight title on 2 March 2019. He made quick work of Bonsu, winning the fight by a second-round knockout.[10] Wood made his first title defence against the former Commonwealth featherweight champion Ryan Doyle on 10 May 2019.[11] Wood won the fight by a tenth-round knockout. He first staggered Doyle with a left hook and a flurry of punches, before knocking him out with a counter left hook.[12]

Wood challenged the reigning WBO European featherweight champion David Oliver Joyce in The Golden Contract Featherweight Tournament Quarter-final, which was held on 4 October 2019. He won the fight by a ninth-round technical knockout.[13] Wood made his first WBO European title defence against Jazza Dickens in The Golden Contract featherweight tournament semifinals on 21 February 2020. He lost the bout by a narrow majority decision. Two of the judges scored the fight 95–94 and 96–94 for Dickens, while the third judge scored the fight as an even 95–95 draw.[14]

WBA (Regular) featherweight champion

Wood vs. Xu

On 6 July 2021, it was announced that Wood would challenge WBA (Regular) featherweight champion Xu Can in Brentwood, Essex on 31 July as part of Matchroom's Fight Camp.[15] Despite being an 11/4 underdog,[16] Wood outboxed the champion during periods of the fight, and prevailed with an upset victory via twelfth-round technical knockout. Xu was down on the scorecards at the time of the stoppage, with scores of 105–102, 104–103 and 104–103.[17] Wood landed 222 of his 935 total punches (24%) and 190 of his 477 power punches (40%), compared to Xu's 208 total and 136 power punches.[18]

Wood vs. Conlan

His first defence of his new title came against Michael Conlan on 12 March 2022 at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham. Wood was knocked down in the final seconds of the first round, Conlan continued to dominate the fight for the next few rounds, but in the later rounds Wood came back into the fight, with Conlan going down in the 11th round, it was scored as a knockdown despite protests from Conlan's corner that it was a slip. In the 12th round, with Conlan being ahead on all the scorecards,[19] Wood managed to knock out Conlan 1:25 into the round, with Conlan falling through the ropes and being taken to hospital for checks.[20] Conlan said since that he is "all good" and that the scans were "clear".[21] Wood's twelfth-round technical knockout of Conlan was awarded as the winner of both The Ring magazine Fight of the Year 2022 and The Ring magazine Knockout of the Year 2022.[22]

WBA featherweight champion

Wood vs. Lara

On 6 April 2022, WBA formally ordered their "Super" champion Leo Santa Cruz to face Wood in a mandatory title defence. They gave the pair 30 days to come to terms and avoid a purse bid.[23] Matchroom Boxing argued for a 50-50 purse split in lieu of the traditional split between a "Super" champion and mandatory title challenger, which would've seen Santa Cruz receive the lion's share of the purse. As such, Santa Cruz's TGB Promotions and Wood's Matchroom Boxing were unable to reach a deal.[24]

On 19 July 2022, the WBA once again ordered their featherweight "Super" champion Leo Santa Cruz to face Wood and gave the champion 24 hours to respond to the order. Santa Cruz requested an exemption from his mandatory defence to face the WBC featherweight champion Rey Vargas instead, which was denied by the sanctioning body. Santa Cruz then offered Wood step-aside money to postpone their fight so he could face Vargas, which was refused by Wood's camp.[25] On 1 August, the WBA notified both camps that a purse bid would be held on 12 August, with a minimum allowed bid of $150,000, with a 75% share going to Santa Cruz as the "Super" titlist. Matchroom Boxing previously submitted an appeal for an even purse split, which was refused by the WBA.[26] They avoided a purse bid, as the two sides reached an agreement to finalise the fight on 12 August.[27] The agreement wasn't to face each other however, but to pursue separate fights. This request was approved by the WBA on 24 August 2022.[28] The same day, it was announced that Wood would make his second WBA (Regular) title defence against Mauricio Lara. The title bout was expected to headline a DAZN broadcast card, which took place at the Motorpoint Arena Nottingham in Nottingham, England, on 24 September 2022.[29] Wood withdrew from the fight ten days before it was supposed to take place, due to a torn biceps suffered in sparring.[30]

On 30 September, the WBA once again ordered Wood and Santa Cruz to enter into negotiations for a title consolidation bout.[31] On 12 December, Santa Cruz vacated his title and Wood was left as the sole champion in the division.[32] As the bout with Santa Cruz fell through, Wood was once again booked to make his second featherweight title defence against Mauricio Lara. The fight took place on 18 February 2023.[33] Wood was knocked down with a left hook near the end of the seventh round. Although he was able to rise from the canvas in time to beat the ten count, his trainer Ben Davison decided to throw in the towel six seconds before the end of the round.[34]

Wood was fought a rematch with Mauricio Lara for the WBA featherweight title in the Manchester Arena, on May 27, 2023.[35] Lara missed weight by 3.8 lbs at the official weigh-ins and was stripped of the belt, leaving only Wood eligible to win the vacant championship.[36] Wood captured the vacant title by unanimous decision, with two scorecards of 118–109 and one scorecard of 116–111.[37]

Wood vs. Warrington

Wood was ordered by the WBA, on 30 May 2023, to make a mandatory championship defense against the #1 ranked contender Otabek Kholmatov.[38] Exactly two months later however, the sanctioning body approved Wood's request to make a voluntary title defense against the former two-time IBF featherweight champion Josh Warrington, with the stipulation that the winner face Kholmatov within 120 days of their fight taking place.[39] The fight took place on 7 October 2023, at the Utilita Arena Sheffield in Sheffield, England.[40] Wood won the fight by a seventh-round knockout.[41] He was down 58–56, 59–55 and 59–55 on the judges' scorecards at the time of the stoppage.[42] Warrington had furthermore landed nearly twice as many total punches (104 to 53) and power punches (79 to 40) by that point as well.[43] Wood vacated the featherweight championship with immediate effect on October 17, 2023.[44]

Professional boxing record

31 fights 28 wins 3 losses
By knockout 17 2
By decision 11 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
31 Win 28–3 Josh Warrington TKO 7 (12), 3:00 7 Oct 2023 Sheffield Arena, Sheffield, England Retained WBA featherweight title
30 Win 27–3 Mauricio Lara UD 12 27 May 2023 Manchester Arena, Manchester, England Won vacant WBA featherweight title
29 Loss 26–3 Mauricio Lara TKO 7 (12), 2:54 18 Feb 2023 Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham, England Lost WBA featherweight title
28 Win 26–2 Michael Conlan TKO 12 (12), 1:25 12 Mar 2022 Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham, England Retained WBA (Regular) featherweight title
27 Win 25–2 Xu Can TKO 12 (12), 2:43 31 Jul 2021 Matchroom Headquarters, Brentwood, England Won WBA (Regular) featherweight title
26 Win 24–2 Reece Mould TKO 9 (12), 1:03 13 Feb 2021 The SSE Arena, London, England Won vacant British featherweight title
25 Loss 23–2 Jazza Dickens MD 10 21 Feb 2020 York Hall, London, England Lost WBO European featherweight title;
The Golden Contract: Featherweight – Semi-final
24 Win 23–1 David Oliver Joyce TKO 9 (10), 2:23 4 Oct 2019 York Hall, London, England Won WBO European featherweight title;
The Golden Contract: Featherweight – Quarter-final
23 Win 22–1 Ryan Doyle KO 10 (12), 1:34 10 May 2019 Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham, England Retained Commonwealth featherweight title
22 Win 21–1 Abraham Osei Bonsu KO 2 (12), 2:43 2 Mar 2019 East of England Arena, Peterborough, England Won vacant Commonwealth featherweight title
21 Win 20–1 Rafael Castillo TKO 3 (6), 1:31 3 Mar 2018 Sheffield Arena, Sheffield, England
20 Win 19–1 Reynaldo Mora PTS 6 25 Nov 2017 Harvey Hadden Sports Village, Nottingham, England
19 Win 18–1 Simas Volosinas PTS 4 24 Jun 2017 Bingham Leisure Centre, Nottingham, England
18 Win 17–1 Lee Glover TKO 2 (10), 1:06 26 Mar 2016 Sheffield Arena, Sheffield, England Won vacant Midlands Area featherweight title
17 Win 16–1 Josh Wale PTS 10 24 Oct 2015 Sheffield Arena, Sheffield, England
16 Win 15–1 Isaac Owusu KO 4 (6), 0:35 25 Jul 2015 Derby Arena, Derby, England
15 Win 14–1 Laszio Fekete TKO 1 (4), 3:00 28 Mar 2015 Sheffield Arena, Sheffield, England
14 Win 13–1 Janis Puksins TKO 2 (6), 1:29 7 Mar 2015 Mares Leisure Centre, Nottingham, England
13 Win 12–1 Martin Mubiru TKO 3 (8), 1:06 16 May 2014 Rushcliffe Arena, Nottingham, England
12 Loss 11–1 Gavin McDonnell TKO 6 (12), 2:03 22 Feb 2014 Ice Arena, Hull, England For vacant British super-bantamweight title
11 Win 11–0 Simas Volosinas PTS 4 13 Dec 2013 Ice Sheffield, Sheffield, England
10 Win 10–0 Genilson de Jesus Santos RTD 3 (10), 3:00 1 Nov 2013 Clifton Leisure Centre, Nottingham, England Won vacant International Masters super-bantamweight title
9 Win 9–0 Ian Bailey TKO 2 (10), 1:43 22 Jun 2013 Clifton Leisure Centre, Nottingham, England Won vacant British Masters featherweight title
8 Win 8–0 Sid Razak PTS 6 13 Apr 2013 Ponds Forge, Sheffield, England
7 Win 7–0 Kristian Laight PTS 4 2 Feb 2013 East of England Arena, Peterborough, England
6 Win 6–0 Tibor Meszaros TKO 1 (6), 1:59 8 Dec 2012 KC Sports Arena, Hull, England
5 Win 5–0 Dai Davies PTS 4 17 Nov 2012 Capital FM Arena, Nottingham, England
4 Win 4–0 Chuck Jones RTD 1 (4), 3:00 28 Sep 2012 Magna Centre, Rotherham, England
3 Win 3–0 Pavels Senkovs PTS 4 18 Feb 2012 Magna Centre, Rotherham, England
2 Win 2–0 Ryan McNicol PTS 4 12 Nov 2011 Event City, Manchester, England
1 Win 1–0 Chuck Jones PTS 6 28 Oct 2011 Clifton Leisure Centre, Nottingham, England

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Boxing record for Leigh Wood". BoxRec.
  2. ↑ ">"Box Rec". Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  3. ↑ "BoxRec: Ratings". boxrec.com. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  4. ↑ "Ratings". The Ring. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  5. ↑ "Rankings – Transnational Boxing Rankings Board". Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  6. ↑ "Gavin McDonnell vs. Leigh Wood - BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  7. ↑ "Please login". boxrec.com. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  8. ↑ "Leigh Wood beats Josh Wale on points to secure British featherweight title shot". Sky Sports. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  9. ↑ Curtis, Leigh (1 March 2018). "FIGHT ME! Wood accuses rivals of running scared as he chases domestic glory". NottinghamshireLive. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  10. ↑ "Abram Osei Bonsu Loses Commonwealth Title". africansportsmonthly.com. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  11. ↑ Gilbert, Peter (9 May 2019). "Leigh Wood promises 'career-best' performance in Commonwealth title defence against Ryan Doyle". skysports.com. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  12. ↑ Gilbert, Peter (11 May 2019). "JD NTXGEN: Leigh Wood stops Ryan Doyle to retain Commonwealth belt". skysports.com. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  13. ↑ Gilbert, Peter (5 October 2019). "Golden Contract: Leigh Wood stops David Oliver Joyce in thrilling scrap". skysports.com. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  14. ↑ Curtis, Leigh (21 February 2020). "Leigh Wood suffers narrow points defeat to Jazza Dickens in thriller at York Hall". nottinghampost.com. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  15. ↑ Stumberg, Patrick L. (6 July 2021). "Xu Can vs Leigh Wood joins Benn-Granados on July 31st". Bad Left Hook. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  16. ↑ Williams, Joe. "Can Xu vs. Leigh Wood fight odds, picks and prediction". The Oshkosh Northwestern. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  17. ↑ Christ, Scott (31 July 2021). "Fight Camp results and highlights: Leigh Wood drops and stops Xu Can to take WBA featherweight belt". Bad Left Hook. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  18. ↑ Parkinson, Nick (1 August 2021). "Leigh Wood shocks Xu Can, takes WBA 'regular' featherweight title by TKO in 12th". espn.com. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  19. ↑ Staff, BoxingScene (13 March 2022). "Leigh Wood vs. Michael Conlan - Official Scorecards". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  20. ↑ "Wood knocks out Conlan to retain title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  21. ↑ "'What happened? Did I lose?' - Conlan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  22. ↑ Harty, Brian (13 January 2023). "2022 Knockout of the Year: Leigh Wood KO 12 Michael Conlan". The Ring. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  23. ↑ Stumberg, Patrick L. (6 April 2022). "WBA orders Leo Santa Cruz vs Leigh Wood for featherweight title". badlefthook.com. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  24. ↑ Donovan, Jake (1 June 2022). "Leo Santa Cruz-Leigh Wood Title Fight Remains On Hold, Pending WBA Purse Split Resolution". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  25. ↑ Songalia, Ryan (19 July 2022). "WBA Denies Leo Santa Cruz Request To Unify, Orders Him To Face Leigh Wood Next". ringtv.com. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  26. ↑ Donovan, Jake (2 August 2022). "Leo Santa Cruz-Leigh Wood: WBA Schedules August 12 Purse Bid Hearing". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  27. ↑ Donovan, Jake (12 August 2022). "Leo Santa Cruz, Leigh Wood Reach Agreement For Title Consolidation Fight, Purse Bid Suspended". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  28. ↑ Donovan, Jake (24 August 2022). "WBA Permits Leo Santa Cruz, Leigh Wood To Enter Separate Featherweight Title Fights". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  29. ↑ Random Hits (24 August 2022). "Leigh Wood vs. Mauricio Lara Tops DAZN Tripleheader on September 24". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  30. ↑ Random Hits (13 September 2022). "Leigh Wood (Biceps) Injured, Lara Fight Postponed; Galahad-Hughes Elevated To Sept. 24 Main Event". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  31. ↑ Donovan, Jake (30 September 2022). "Leo Santa Cruz-Leigh Wood: WBA To Reorder Title Consolidation Clash". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  32. ↑ "Leo Santa Cruz Vacates WBA 'Super' Featherweight Title; Leigh Wood Now Full Titleholder - Boxing News". www.boxingscene.com. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  33. ↑ Stumberg, Patrick L. (9 January 2023). "Leigh Wood vs Mauricio Lara rescheduled for February 18th in Nottingham". badlefthook.com. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  34. ↑ Emons, Michael (18 February 2023). "Relive the action - Lara stops Wood to win WBA featherweight title". bbc.com. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  35. ↑ "Britain's Wood will face Lara in Manchester rematch". BBC Sport.
  36. ↑ Donovan, Jake (26 May 2023). "WBA Featherweight Title At Stake Only For Leigh Wood; Mauricio Lara Well Over Limit". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  37. ↑ Donovan, Jake (27 May 2023). "Leigh Wood Regains WBA Title, Wins Dominant Decision Over Mauricio Lara". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  38. ↑ Donovan, Jake (30 May 2023). "Leigh Wood-Otabek Khlomatov: WBA Formally Orders Mandatory Title Fight". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  39. ↑ Donovan, Jake (30 July 2023). "WBA Approves Leigh Wood-Josh Warrington Title Fight; Winner Mandated To Face Otabek Kholmatov". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  40. ↑ Random Hits (31 July 2023). "Leigh Wood vs. Josh Warrington on October 7 at Utilita Arena Sheffield". boxingscene.com. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  41. ↑ Christ, Scott (7 October 2023). "Leigh Wood stuns Josh Warrington with comeback TKO win: Full fight highlights and results". Bad Left Hook. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  42. ↑ "Leigh Wood vs Josh Warrington scorecards show just how badly champion needed come-from-behind knockout". talkSPORT. 8 October 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  43. ↑ Compubox (8 October 2023). "Leigh Wood vs. Josh Warrington - CompuBox Punch Stats". BoxingScene.com. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  44. ↑ Stumberg, Patrick L. (17 October 2023). "Leigh Wood vacates featherweight title, moves to 130". Bad Left Hook. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
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