Leigh Wood puts Josh Warrington rivalry behind him with wide decision win

Leigh Wood put the rivalry with Josh Warrington behind him, winning a comprehensive decision Saturday in Nottingham, England.

Wood surprised many by boxing as a southpaw throughout, keeping his hands down by his sides and acting as the matador to Warrington’s bull-like charges.

It was hard and physical as expected, but the fireworks so many anticipated didn’t come.

Even in the final round, with Warrington needing to pour on the pressure and Wood’s Nottingham fans in full voice, the bout didn’t catch fire.

Wood was impeccable, tactically astute and disciplined.

The Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham was a tinderbox. Wood’s home fans were up against Warrington’s traveling Leeds army, and they had been brimming with expectation at seeing the fighters put their feud behind them.

Wood, of course, won their first bout more than two years ago when he stopped Warrington at the bell to end the seventh round. Warrington has, ever since, maintained that he should have been allowed to continue.

This rematch, which proved so hard to make, was supposed to settle everything – and it did. A trilogy fight is now null and void.

Wood opened up as a southpaw, and both looked to assert themselves in the early exchanges. Within 90 seconds, there was a swagger about Wood, who dropped his hands and started potshotting, catching Warrington, who was too often caught in no man’s land.

There was blood from Wood’s nose in the second, and Warrington lashed him with a left hook. Warrington was loading up and Wood’s nose was bad, but the low hands and southpaw stance kept Warrington guessing and, often, chasing shadows. Warrington landed a good straight right in Round 2, but Wood was in the ascendency early.

Warrington stayed tight and compact, and in the third he slipped from side to side to close the gap and let his hands go to put the pressure on – only to be caught by a right hook moments later.

Wood was looking relaxed, enjoying his role as the matador as he fended off Warrington’s attacks with a shot before pivoting off. Warrington’s timing was off, but it was more a matter of the fight being fought at a range that didn’t suit him.

Wood shook off a fourth-round left hook and was occasionally guilty of not keeping his chin down, but he caught Warrington with a left uppercut – one of the shots that caused Warrington to unravel last time – and Warrington smiled wryly while Wood punched the air.

Warrington’s determination saw him walk onto more shots in the fifth, but Wood was a different fighter from the previous bout. He was boxing exclusively as a left-hander, and his hands-down approach was befuddling Warrington.

A handful of rounds were close.

Wood was taking on damage. His nose was bleeding, and he was marking up by the right eye.

Warrington was off the pace in the sixth, and his nose was starting to redden.

“He’ll tire if you keep pressing,” Warrington’s father and trainer Sean O’Hagan told him in the corner.

O’Hagan implored his charge to give the Leeds fans something to sing about.

In an otherwise quiet seventh, Warrington jolted Wood’s head back a couple of times near the end of the round, but in the eighth Warrington was always marginally too late to pull the trigger, just getting caught on the way in before he could let his hands go.

Concentration was etched on Wood’s face, and he seemed happy to take the odd shot from Warrington, having shared this week that he didn’t think his opponent could hurt him.

Wood looked at peace in his corner before the ninth.

Warrington needed to increase his intensity and output if he was going to turn anything around, but he had a lot of respect for Wood’s threatening low left hand, and that kept him honest and stopped him from being reckless.

Wood’s face was a bloody mess when he sat down before the 10th, but that didn’t tell the story of the fight. It hadn’t caught fire as many had anticipated it would, and that was largely thanks to the strategy Team Wood had employed, boxing as a southpaw with his hands low and keeping Warrington in check. Warrington had no answer as the clock started to tick down, and when the scorecards were read out – 119-109, 119-110 and 117-111 – there was no question who had won.

Thankfully, any animosity between the fighters evaporated, and they embraced several times after the bell and after the scorecards were read out.

Wood is now 29-4 (17 KOs). Warrington, 35, is 32-5-1 (8 KOs), and there were tears in his eyes as he waved at his Leeds fan, as he might have been waving his career goodbye.

“I worked hard for this and my team worked hard,” said Wood. “I’m not going to make a decision tonight [on his future] but if it is the last one, what a fight to go out on.”

Both boxers are two-time world champions, and Wood said they would go for a beer later in the night.

A crestfallen Warrington said: “I came in tonight stronger and fitter, and I could see what Leigh was doing and I just couldn’t capitalize on it. … I was off the pace. I’m not going to make a decision [he said of his future]. That being said, I tried my best and I wanted it bad. I’ve trained immensely and worked hard in the gym.”