Big-time boxing finally returns to Nottingham this weekend.
Carl Froch was the last man to put Nottingham on the British boxing map, but now there’s a new name who could have a similar effect.
Leigh Wood, the current reigning WBA ‘regular’ featherweight champion, makes the first defence of his title on March 12th against mandatory challenger Michael Conlan in front of a sold-out Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, and if he gets the win, the sky is the limit.
Wood’s boxing career has been a slow grind. A 27-fight span has seen Wood on the brink of obscurity but following a dominant ninth round stoppage win against Reece Mould for the British featherweight title last year; Wood was thrust back into the spotlight.
Then came the fight that changed his life. Wood beat Xu Can via a late final round stoppage at Fight Camp 2021 to claim the WBA 126lb title and now the Nottingham man has brought a boxing buzz back to his home city.
Saturday night should be a memorable occasion and when speaking exclusively to DAZN News, Wood claims that Conlan has now realised how big the task at hand is.
“No, it’s dawning on him,” Wood said.
“It’s dawning on him the mountain he’s going to have to climb.
“It’s dawning on him the scale of the job, the severity of the fight.”
Since the pair went face-to-face during a media tour in January, Conlan has since cut himself off from the outside world and in Wood’s eyes, this is a sign that the former Olympian is out of his comfort zone when it comes to the build-up for this particular fight.
“It’s alright playing the joker and having a laugh, swearing a few times at a press conference, now he’s got to fight,” Wood stated.
“He knows this is his hardest fight, he’s admitted that this is his hardest fight.
“He can say what he wants, but he’s got to get in there and fight.
“In my eyes he’s doing things he’s not used to doing, he’s doing things he doesn’t normally do before a fight, that’s a worrying sign.”
Despite being backed by a raucous legion of fans come fight night, Wood believes Conlan’s confidence will be affected by stepping into enemy territory. The fight is a sell-out and sees the arena split in two with Wood and Conlan fans positioned on either side of the venue.
“Yeah, possibly, I’m not saying it’s dawning on him like he’s getting scared, I see straight through his confidence,” Wood claimed.
“I see straight through it, he says to me on the press conference things like, him and his brother, ‘I’ve not boxed in front of this many people before’, they are hoping I trip and stumble under the pressure.
“When we got close, he mentioned my shoulder operation in October which was very close to my camp, he said ‘How’s your shoulder?’
“He’s hoping I’ve got a bad shoulder; he’s hoping I slip and crumble under that pressure, not a single chance.”
For Wood, it’s a chance to cement himself as one of the world’s best at 126lbs, while Conlan will be looking to fulfil his destiny of winning a world title, whoever comes out on top, it’s set to be a night to remember when Nottingham becomes the centre of the boxing world once more.