The WBA may have ordered them to fight but Michael Conlan doesn’t believe Leo Santa Cruz and Leigh Wood will face one another.
Last month the governing body ordered their two featherweight champions to meet as part of their goal to have one per division.
Conlan spoke to Boxing Social’s Ayman Khan recently and explained why he thinks it won’t happen. “I think there’s much bigger fights out there for him than Leigh, at the weight above. Why would he want to fight him? I really doubt it.”
Should the fight happen, who would Conlan pick to win?
“I’d back Leo. For 11 and a half rounds I took Leigh to school. I rate him as being resilient and tough but in terms of the boxing stuff I think Leo’s a better fighter.”
In March Wood staged a thrilling comeback to knock Conlan out in the 12 th round after an electric night in Nottingham. Conlan spoke about coping with his first professional defeat.
“It was hard to get over the loss,” said Conlan. “My first time ever being knocked out. I’m good, I’m over it now. I was down for a while, but I understand the mistakes I made and what I need to do to fix those. I’m looking forward to the next steps.”
Conlan returns to the ring in Belfast on August 6.
Click here to watch the full interview.