Leigh Wood is sitting thoughtfully on the edge of his sofa. A navy blue baseball cap covers his curly wicks, and he looks carefully at the lens of his smartphone.
“It's doing or getting stuck – this next week will be so important,” Wood (28-3, 17 KB) told Wood without courtes.
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The Nottingham fighter returns to Nottingham Arena in England to challenge the champion Ibo Super Featherweight Anthony Caccace (23-1, 8 Kos) on Saturday Night Live on Dazn, but this defeat is far from the reason of Wood's nerves.
His beloved Premier League football team, Nottingham Forest, takes advantage of a season beyond his wildest dreams. After having survived the relegation by the skin of his teeth for the last two campaigns, an inspired nine -month saw the Club Challenge for a place in the Champions League next season – the cream of European football cream – as well as to reach its first semi -final of the FA Cup since 1991, when the former World Champion Wood was only 3 years old.
It is the day after a defeat against Manchester City in this semi -final at the Wembley stadium, and it is clear that the sixth place forest – which faces Leicester City on Sunday – is still in Wood's mind.
“We knew it was going to be difficult,” he said without courting. “Manchester City is so experienced in this type of game, but we have to focus on the league now and make sure that we are doing the first five. It was an incredible and surprising season – he pumped his life so much after struggling for so many years to come back near the summit.”
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It would be tempting to speak only of football with wood, but thanks to the conversational tangents, it is impossible to ignore how much his hometown means for him.
Not since a defeat in 2023 against Mauricio Lara – which is now serving a two -year ban for a doping violation – Wood fought in Nottingham, and welcoming breastfeeding on Saturday evening is something that the 36 -year -old is savored.
“It's a community in Nottingham – and I'm so lucky to be such a central part of that the night of combat,” he said. “It is difficult to put a percentage on the amount that this crowd adds to my performance, but it is something that I will always eat. They are like a choir. They make the most incredible noise and even follow me across the country when I don't fight at home.
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“I always say that music and sport – and in this case, boxing – are so important that they allow people to meet as a whole, in some cases where they would not meet in other horizons. If you go through moments or bad times, you cross it together to the last bell.
Wood, of course, refers to his victory in 2022 against Michael Conlan, who saw him rally after being overthrown in the first round. The performance has closed an incredible series of three victories for Wood who saw him win the British featherweight title against Reece Mugs and the WBA (regular) featherweight world championship against Xu Can – the three victories that take place via breathtaking stops, and in the cases of Xu and Conlan, in the 12th round.
Wood's power is something he was able to exploit in the last stages of his 14 -year career as a pro. He is categorical, a new team has helped him unlock this secret weapon in the past four years.
“I took a little clearance of clearance to join Ben (Davison) because he was still quite young, but it is the best decision I made during my career,” says Wood. “Ben, Lee Wylie and I work as well as a unit. When I got on the pads with Ben, he was surprised, saying: “Wow, he can crack, he can really hit”, and Lee was confused about the reason why I was fighting in a certain way throughout my career – to change, not to sit on my punches, moving a lot.
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“But they were able to work on my foundation, where to punch, and now it is transformed into my main asset. You saw it right away in the fight of mold Reece. It was a massive turning point in my career, understanding the principles in the way of using my power.”
It is something that the undeniable champion of the naoya inoue Coq weight discovered the painful way of a combat session in 2018.
Anthony Coacca (left) and Leigh Wood poses with the promoter Frank Warren after a press conference in London on February 14, 2025. (Photo by Zac Goodwin / PA Images via Getty Images)
(Zac Goodwin – PA Images via Getty Images)
Wood was in Japan to work with the Inoue family and had some success against the “monster”, to the pleasure of the father of Inoue, Shingo. Wood played Naoya and his brother Takuma during consecutive days in Japan, but was under the illusion in which he was just with the younger brother.
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“They had the same equipment, the same leader and look quite similar,” said Wood. “I had some success against Takuma on the first day and, on the second day, we started the Spar and I said to myself:” F *** me, it is much sharper today! “
“I caught him with a charming one-two and I rocked him on the back of his heels, and his father became crazy in the area, applauding and applauding! I was very confused. It was a big stride, but I was shocked how much he had improved at night.
“Leigh Wood has huge punching power,” Naoya Inoue told Ring Magazine. “He was tall and probably because of that, I really felt his power and his strength.”
Wood may have to repeat some of his best career career performances if he wants to upset breaker. The Irish Southpaw is 36 years old, like wood, and benefits an Indian summer from a career spent on the national scene.
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The victories on Joe Cordina and Josh Warrington rose in the classification of super feathered feathers, and a weight leap for wood was considered an opportunistic gamble to guarantee a fight of this magnitude.
“People ask me what it is to have these four additional books with whom to play with, but that's not like that,” says Wood. “It just means that I have to lower less. But I am so devoted outside the camp that it will not be a problem. Of course, I haven't fought for almost two years now, but it just made me have an avier if anything. I did not take the eye of the ball.
“This is the last chapter of my career now, so I focus 100% to put everything in these last fights. Whether I retire this year or not, we will have to wait and see, but I want to make sure I get out of healthy sport.
“You see too many fighters last too long and then suffer later in life,” he continues. “I don't want to put myself in this position. I had the chance to achieve everything I wanted in sport, expect a great thing: to fight on the ground of the city of Nottingham Forest.
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“The opportunities have not yet been presented for this, unfortunately. You also need a little luck – the good opponent and the right time of the year. I remain positive that it can happen, because it will be the ideal way to close my career.”
Leigh Wood works the body against Josh Warrington during their WBA featherweight title fight in Utilita Arena Sheffield in October 2023. (Photo of Nick Potts / PA Images via Getty Images)
(Nick Potts – PA Images via Getty Images)
This is something that even his heroes who grow up – Nicky Booth and Carl Froch – have managed to achieve in their legendary career, but a victory on breaking this weekend may well be the starting point for an appropriate career final in a Wood place calls a second house.
Since he went from the famous WinCobank gymnasium to Sheffield to work alongside Davison and Wylie, Wood has felt comfort in a tailor -made match plan for each individual competition. Calculation sheets and reports of several pages help preparation for each opponent, and Wood's eyes light up when he talks about the angles from which he found success in his last victories. It has become a well -perceived obsession.
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Of course, he does not want to disclose the way he will be breaking up, but he is confident to go to Dazn's headliner as an oppressed.
“I never feel like an outsider in a fight,” says Wood. “I always expect to win – anything less and I fell short. No matter what the experts, the bookmakers, the other fighters think of my chances, I only think of winning.”
He is often considered dangerous for a fighter to flirt with retirement, but Wood's head is screwed safely. It is anchored and opened to discuss the boxing elephant in the room. A career favoring his health by limiting the spars head has borne fruit in recent years, and after 31 fights which have given 170 laps, he is still waiting for the last play from a career puzzle.
“A perfect summer?” He concludes. “Well, a breaking victory and a finish among the first five for the forest.” It is a predictable answer. Despite the question marks on what the next year has in store for Wood, one thing can be certain: it will be back inside the four stands on the city's historic land.
Fortunately, it is retired with a pie and a pint in hand, or to touch gloves for a song of Nottingham history – only time will tell us.
