Comeback King Leigh Wood Stops Josh Warrington in Sheffield and Other Fight News

A late bloomer trained by Ben Davison, Nottingham featherweight Leigh Wood has become adept at snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. In March of last year, trailing on all three scorecards through 11 rounds, he brutally stopped then-undefeated Michael Conlan, knocking the Irishman through the ropes and unconscious in what would be the consensus pick for the Fight of the Year. Last night against countryman Josh Warrington in Sheffield, he was in a deep hole after six rounds – trailing by margins of 4, 4, and 2 points – when he forged another dramatic turnaround, knocking Warrington down hard with a right-left combination. The Leeds man made it to his feet but was deemed in no condition to continue.

Wood, now 25-3 (17 KOs) entered his 2022 match with Michael Conlan as the reigning WBA featherweight champion. He lost his next start vs. Mexico’s Mauricio Lara (his corner pulled him out after five rounds) and regained it in the rematch, winning a wide decision. Warrington, 33, a former two-time IBF featherweight title-holder, entered last night’s contest sporting a 31-2-1 record. According to the CompuBox punch stats, he landed twice as many total punches and twice as many power punches than Wood through the completed rounds. And then, in round seven, the roof fell in on him.

Leigh Wood has made known his desire to have his next fight in his hometown on the grounds of his city’s Premier League entry, the Nottingham Forest Football Club. A rematch with Josh Warrington would be an easy sell, but Wood has struggled to make the weight and a more likely opponent, no matter the location, would be the undefeated Welshman Joe Cordina who defends his IBF 130-pound belt next month against Texas campaigner Edward Vazquez in what has the look of very easy title defense.

Semi-windup

In the chief supporting bout, Doncaster’s Terri Harper (14-1-2) and former pound-for-pound queen Cecilia Braekhus (37-2-1) battled to a draw. Two of the judges scored it 95-95, overruling judge Bob Williams who had it 97-93 for the Englishwoman. This match was originally slated for May 20 on Katie Taylor’s homecoming fight with Chantelle Cameron, but Braekhus pulled out at the 11^th hour with an illness. At stake tonight was Harper’s WBA junior middleweight title and the vacant WBO belt.

The decision didn’t sit well with Harper’s promoter Eddie Hearn. “I can’t understand what these judges see sometimes,” said Hearn. “[Harper] won comfortably. The punch stats, however, were fairly even, and Harper, who at age 26 was the younger woman by 16 years, was more diplomatic. “It was my own fault for letting it get that close,” she said. “I should have stepped up the gears.”

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Another female title fight was staged last night at Bell Place in Laval, Quebec. Argentina’s Evelin Bermudez, 26, successfully defended her IBF and WBO titles with a controversial split decision over local fan favorite Kim Clavel, 33. One of the judges thought Clavell won eight of the 10 rounds, but both of his colleagues had it 96-94 for the Argentine.

Bermudez improved to 19-1-1. Her lone defeat came at the hands of Costa Rican standout Yokasta Valle, currently 29-2 and riding a 16-fight winning streak. Clavel, a former WBC title-holder, falls to 17-2 and proved deserving of a rematch.

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