Who is Leigh Wood: Fight record, stats, next bout and more

Leigh Wood will return to the ring after over eighteen months to challenge Anthony Cacace for the IBO super featherweight title at the Nottingham Arena this weekend.
Despite this being Wood's first fight at the super-featherweight limit, a win over Cacace would position him for a shot at one of the 'big four' boxing titles.
But it has been far from straight forward for the Nottingham fighter, who has had to pull himself through hard times and setbacks to climb his way to the top table of boxing.
Stats
Total fights: 31
Record: 28-3 (17 KOs)
Rounds: 170
Height: 5' 7'
Reach: 67'
Early Career
Wood made his debut in 2011 and worked his way to a shot at the British super-bantamweight title three years later, suffering a sixth-round knockout loss to Gavin McDonnell.
This early setback forced him to re-build, eventually claiming the Midlands Area featherweight title by knocking out Lee Glover in two rounds in 2016.
Despite this, Wood was still fighting four- and six-round fights in Midlands small halls before he got his shot at the Commonwealth featherweight title in 2018.
After claiming the Commonwealth title and defending it, Wood made the next step up and claimed the WBO European title, beating Ryan Doyle in 2019.
Stumbling once again, 'Leigh-thal' lost his European title in 2020 to James Dickens by majority decision. It looked as though it was one step forward and two steps back for Wood – having to bounce back and win the British featherweight title against Reece Mould the next year.
World titles
In 2021, Wood would receive a career-defining opportunity to challenge for a world title.
At the Matchroom HQ Garden in Brentwood, Can Xu's WBA featherweight title was on the line. Wood was a massive underdog coming into the fight, but claimed a dramatic twelfth-round stoppage and his first world title after ten years.
But defending a world title is another thing, and Wood's first defence was against Olympic Bronze medallist Michael Conlan in a bout in Nottingham in 2023.
Symptomatic of his career, the fight was slipping away from Wood who was dropped in the first round and outboxed for the rest, but he stayed in the fight until the end – rallying in the final round to knock out Conlan in The Ring's 2022 fight of the year.
This was not the end of the drama for the Midlands man who suffered a knockout loss of his own against Mauricio Lara in 2023. Five months later, he won an immediate rematch to reclaim his WBA title with a unanimous decision.
Woods final fight at featherweight was against his Leeds rival, Josh Warrington, and it was another comeback victory. Down on all three scorecards, he picked a perfect hook followed up by a blistering five-shot combination to put Warrington down and force a referee stoppage.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

BBC News

27 minutes ago

• BBC News

Five Lincolnshire primary schools to get hubs to help SEND pupils

Plans for hubs to support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) at five primary schools across Lincolnshire have been centres will provide a learning environment for pupils with education, health and care plans (EHCPs) while still remaining within the mainstream school County Council said said there had been a "significant" rise in demand for SEND places across the Oliver, executive member for children's services, said the hubs were "an incredibly important and necessary step forward in improving the lives of children and their families". The hubs will be based at Gonerby Hill Foot Church of England Primary School in Grantham, The Meadows Primary School in Lincoln, St George's Church of England Primary School in Gainsborough, Caistor Church of England and Methodist Primary School and Church Lane Primary School in a council meeting on Friday where the plans were approved, it was heard the hubs will cost more than £7m and were being funded by the Department for McMorrow, the council's programme manager for the SEND and inclusion team, said special schools were oversubscribed despite an additional 527 pupil places over the last four years. The meeting was told that Lincolnshire had significantly more students with SEND than the national average, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Martin Smith, assistant director of children's education, said that nationally 4.2% of children have an EHCP, compared to 4.9% of children in councillor Stephen Roe said: "This has given a fantastic opportunity for some of our young people to not have to travel so far to get the education they need but also to get them involved in mainstream education which is very important."I have friends with children who have gone through mainstream school who probably wouldn't have normally and it has enhanced their opportunities."Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.

The Sun

29 minutes ago

• The Sun

‘Brucey was crying' – What Pep Guardiola said to Steve Bruce about Lionel Messi left him in tears

PEP GUARDIOLA left Steve Bruce in tears of laughter during a conversation about bringing Lionel Messi to Manchester City. A reunion between the pair was on the cards in 2020 when Messi's contract with Barcelona started to wind down. 4 4 Messi was said to have been convinced by his old manager to move to the Etihad but performed a U-turn due to his belief Barca would offer him a new deal. That deal didn't end up coming to fruition and he ended up joining Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer in August 2021. The prospect of Messi moving to the Prem quickly became the talk of players and managers alike. And at Premier League meeting with all the managers present, former Burnley boss Sean Dyche quizzed Guardiola about his pursuit of the footie icon while getting a cup of tea with Bruce. During an appearance on talkSPORT, he recalled: "I said, 'What was that thing about Lionel Messi?' "He (Guardiola) goes, 'Sean, Steve, I tell you this. Lionel, he said no way can he come to Manchester City. "Because I tell Lionel it rains. 'It rains and rains. And when it stops raining, it rains again.' "Then he goes, 'Lionel, on a Monday night, you have to go to Burnley, Sean's team. JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS 4 "And they go bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.' Brucey was crying!" Dyche, 53, added: "I went, 'That's exactly what we're going to do, Pep You warned him correctly.' Lionel Messi gives rare insight into his relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo "Me and Brucey were crying, honestly. It was genius. Pep, brilliant." The prospect of eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi rocking up at Turf Moor tickled Dyche, who said: "Imagine that. "His face turning up at Turf Moor going, 'What on earth? " "Absolutely smashing it down with rain, wind blowing across and knocking you over." Messi spent two seasons with PSG before upping sticks to the MLS to join David Beckham co-owned Inter Miami.

Daily Mail​

30 minutes ago

• Daily Mail​

Revealed: 'Why Ruud van Nistelrooy is STILL at Leicester' despite club deciding to sack him after hapless relegation campaign

Leicester City 's decision to keep Ruud van Nistelrooy in charge for now, despite their relegation from the Premier League, has finally been explained. The Dutchman oversaw a disastrous run of results having replaced Steve Cooper last November, meaning the Foxes will play in the Championship next season. Last month, Mailsport the former Manchester United striker will depart after less than a year in charge of the club. However, weeks after Leicester's final game of the season, van Nistelrooy's exit has still not officially been confirmed. According to The Sun, the 48-year-old is still in the job because the club is waiting to enter its next financial accounting period — a move that would reduce the cost of terminating his contract. Speaking last month, Van Nistelrooy was hopeful of resolving his future at the club as soon as possible. He said: '(I am) still hoping to find out. The quicker the better, in the best interest of the club. We're all hoping to find out soon. 'There's 70 people working at the training ground who want to evaluate the season (and start) looking forward to the next.' Van Nistelrooy's disastrous spell in charge saw Leicester suffer 17 defeats in 19 matches. The Foxes endured a nightmare run of form at home, going nine consecutive Premier League games without scoring a single goal — and losing every one of them. Their relegation from the top flight was officially confirmed on April 20, capping off a calamitous campaign under the former striker. With less than seven weeks remaining until the start of the new Championship season, Sean Dyche is said to be among candidates to replace Van Nistelrooy at the King Power. The 53-year-old has been out of working since being sacked as Everton manager in January following a poor run iof results.