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Leigh Wood Comes From Behind To Sensationally Knock Josh Warrington Out

Written by Kerr Ferguson on 7th October 2023.

Leigh Wood Josh Warrington Highlights

Leigh Wood came from behind to stop Josh Warrington in quite incredible fashion, retaining the WBA Featherweight World Title and continuing a Cinderella Man story.

Wood entered the ring not only with the world title, but with momentum behind him. Warrington looked to return back to winning ways and become a three-time champion.

In many ways the match-up was perfect. Both men towards the end of their careers, respected for taking the hard route, a wildly intriguing clash of styles and the Nottingham-Leeds rivalry all in the mix.

Warrington started quickly as expected, looking to get on the inside past the jab of Wood. He succeeded, too. The champion looked for big shots and was happy to meet on the inside – a surprising game plan. Warrington made it rough.

Wood made it more difficult for Warrington in round two from the southpaw stance, catching him coming in and boxing much smarter. Good distance control from the champion.

Huge start to round three from Warrington, who backed Wood into the ropes and landed some statement shots to stagger Wood, who seemed off the pace. The Leeds man was warned for a low blow, buying Wood some time from a relentless attack. Good body work from Warrington, and the head shots that followed were definitely felt by the champ.

Wood’s shots didn’t have the spite of Josh Warrington’s, which were landing too clean too often on the Nottingham native. He was cut by his right eye – ruled a punch by the referee – and things were increasingly looking bad for him.

Warrington sent Wood off balance with a right hand in the fifth. The pair traded heavy shots to end the round, Warrington coming out the other side better off.

Wood complained about punches around the back of the head, but the referee didn’t intervene and he took another for his trouble. A faster, sharper and stronger Warrington was beginning to run away with it at the halfway stage.

Warrington had a point off in the seventh for rabbit punching. Wood was throwing more, but his shots still lacked the pop for a momentum shift – until they didn’t.

In yet another unbelievable chapter in the story of Leigh Wood, he landed a right hook with 10 seconds to go in the round that staggered Warrington. Five more hooks sent the Leeds man down heavily right on the bell.

The ten-count started, Warrington was up but staggering back to his corner with his back turned. It was over. His team may argue that he should have had the break to recover, but he was hurt.

For at least the second time, Leigh Wood has written a script fitting of Hollywood. He retains the world title and now has a contracted promise for a fight at the City Ground in Nottingham. No man deserves it more.

Elsewhere on the DAZN-broadcast card, Junaid Bostan moved to 7-0 in the super-welter ranks with a stoppage of Scotland’s Corey McCulloch. Featherweight Hopey Price produced a final round TKO against Connor Coghill after being thoroughly tested in the first half of the bout.

Kieron Conway left the ring with the WBA Inter-Continental Middleweight title, the referee stopping the clash in the sixth due to a severely swollen eye on the part of Linus Udofia. Terri Harper managed to hold on to her WBA Super-Welterweight World title but didn’t succeed in picking up the vacant WBO with a majority draw against Cecilia Braekhus.