NOTTINGHAM-based Leigh Wood, 28-3 (17 KOs), quickly became one of the United Kingdom’s greatest surprise packages when he bounced back from defeat to Jazza Dickens at the British level to become a two-time featherweight world champion.
Now, after being inactive for 14 months, the 36-year-old is gearing up for an imminent return to the ring as he silences any whispers of a possible retirement and sets about a new chapter in his career.
You could have been forgiven for thinking that Wood would progress no further than the domestic scene after losing out to Dickens in 2020, but an eye-catching knockout of Reece Mould for the Lonsdale Belt saw Wood earn the chance to take on Can Xu for the WBA (Regular) crown.
Wood was able to upset the odds and halt Xu in the final round of a career-best display before repeating the feat against undefeated amateur sensation Michael Conlan a few months later, stopping the Irishman with seconds remaining on the clock of a dramatic encounter that will be remembered fondly for years to come.
‘The Sheriff of Nottingham’ was then upgraded to become the full WBA featherweight world champion, only to lose his title to the hard-hitting Mauricio Lara in an attempted first defence. However, Wood would avenge the defeat just three months later by outboxing the Mexican for the full 12 rounds to reclaim the WBA strap.
Despite physical struggles making the 126lb weight, Wood managed to squeeze one more contest out of himself in October 2023, knocking out domestic rival and fellow two-time featherweight conqueror Josh Warrington whilst behind on the cards.
Wood is yet to return to action since his clash with ‘The Leeds Warrior’, despite rumours that the pair could rematch at The City Ground – home of Wood’s beloved Nottingham Forest F.C.
After confirming that he was a free agent in 2024, the curly-haired contender revealed last week that he was on the verge of a return. Speaking exclusively to Boxing News, Wood announced that this would indeed be taking place at 130lbs and that he will be topping the bill upon his comeback.
“I’m moving up to super-featherweight and it’s looking like a spring return. All agreed now, so should be announced this month if that’s what the promoter decides,” said Wood.
“I’ll be headlining, but I can’t say much more right now. I can’t wait for it to be announced myself, as I feel I’ve been out in the wilderness for a while.”
“It was really hard to make the weight since winning the world title, but it took all of my life to get there, so I had to defend it. Then obviously my biggest domestic fight was there [126lbs], so I said that once that was out of the way I was moving up.
“Thankfully I got the win and now I’m really excited to have the extra weight to play with, even though it will still be hard to make, just not as hard.”
With 17 knockouts in 28 wins thus far, it may seem, at first glance, that Wood may lack the power to damage bigger opposition. Still, the fact that eight of his last nine victories have come inside the distance will give him confidence that he can hurt and stop his new rivals in the super-featherweight division.
At present, three of the current four world champions at super-featherweight are based in the United States, leaving Belfast-based IBF title holder Anthony Cacace, 23-1 (8 KOs), as the obvious target.
However, Wood went on to detail that he is confident of defeating any of the current crop of titleholders and refused to rule out an ‘away day’ across the pond for the Nottingham faithful before apologising for his inactivity throughout 2024 and promising to make up for lost time this year.
“The super-featherweight division is red hot and has the potential to have some great fights for the fans. They are all on my radar, I don’t believe at the moment there is anybody I wouldn’t be able to beat, but they all have their strengths, it’s just about going about each opponent the right way,” he added.
“I think that the fans would love an away day, but at the same time when I box in my home city there is no feeling like it. I owe a lot to the support that I’ve had over my last run of title fights, they have really made the difference on the night. Most of them [fans] are from my own city, but we have had a lot of people travelling from all over to come and support, which I can’t thank them enough for.”
Wood’s return will signal the end of his free agency since leaving Matchroom Boxing last March and will serve as the first bout of a ‘multi-fight’ deal with his new, unnamed promotional outfit.
He closed with a message to the fans: “To everybody that always gets behind me, sorry about the layoff, it was out my hands, but I will be making up for it this year in the most exciting fights to date, see you soon!”
