NOTTINGHAM, England – Leigh Wood is considering retirement following his victory over Josh Warrington.
Wood faced Warrington on Saturday at the Motorpoint Arena in his hometown of Nottingham, England. The contest was three years in the making, after the pair’s original outing in 2023 ended in controversy. Warrington was cruising against Wood in their first encounter, but he was caught in the seventh and the fight was called off. Warrington argued he was fit to continue, and a rematch was called to settle the score – a bout that didn’t materialize until Saturday.
The rematch was different from the original. Wood dominated throughout, and despite Warrington’s efforts, he just didn’t have the end product to cause Wood any harm. Wood walked a clear winner after 12 relatively straightforward rounds in front of his home crowd. The build-up was a fiery one, with neither Wood nor Warrington shying away from letting their thoughts be known of the other. That all changed following the final bell, with both men showing each other respect.
“Yeah, you can't really explain it, but once you knock lumps out of each other for 12 rounds, you view each other differently,” Wood said of his foe. “He’s got my respect. Especially after four rounds, I hit him with some good shots and I thought, ‘You know what, you're tough.'
“I think I boxed a better version of Josh Warrington tonight than I did the first time. Fitness, strength and all the rest of it – it just, he was a little bit more cautious, as well. You know, I think if I'd have boxed this Josh Warrington that time, I would have had a hard fight. But we knew him better.”
The victory marked yet another memorable night for Wood in front of his home crowd. Now 37, he has had some rise since losing to James “Jazza” Dickens in the “Golden Contract” tournament in 2020. Wood parted ways with coach Domonic Ingle following the loss and teamed up with Ben Davison – a partnership that would earn him two featherweight titles.
“I was sat in my bath at Sheffield, I was 30 years old,” recalled Wood. “I was thinking, ‘Right, I'm 30, I'm not getting my chances, I'm not getting my opportunities.’ And I was in a good gym, and I thought to myself, ‘I could go on a crazy run and win the British, this, that, European, world title,’ and I could go on a crazy run and not lose and do all that. I thought I could do it; I didn't think I would. And then, I went down to Ben [Davison] and his team, and I did go on that crazy run. It's quite surreal.”
At Wood’s age, his best days are certainly behind him, and a win over his fierce rival in front of his home fans feels like the perfect way to go out. However, Wood was not sure “if [he] boxes again.”
Tom Ivers is a lifelong fight fan and former amateur boxer who has a master’s degree in sports journalism. Tom joined BoxingScene in 2024 and is now a key part of the UK and social media teams.
