Their first fight in October 2023 swung the moment Wood found his range. Warrington set the pace early behind busy hands and pressure, then stepped onto a right hand in the seventh and never recovered. Wood timed him with a tight right hand over the top that checked him clean. Once Warrington’s legs dipped, Wood stepped across, kept him in front of him, and let short, accurate shots go until the referee had seen enough.
Now they run it back at the Motorpoint Arena, sold out and loud. Wood understands what Warrington brings. Work rate. Conditioning.
“He gets himself into tremendous shape,” Wood said on Matchroom Boxing’s YouTube channel. “He has a great engine and throws a lot of punches. But that gives someone like me great opportunities.”
Wood’s openings show up in the exchanges. Warrington tries to bully his way inside, but he often comes in on a straight line. When his feet get parallel and his head stays on the center line, he is there to be timed. That is when Wood sets his base, pulls the trigger on the right hand over the top, and catches him before he can roll out or tie up.
“He says he won every round but that’s not happened,” Wood said. “He contradicts himself. Was he winning every round? Has he even watched it back? I couldn’t believe the audacity from me when I’ve beaten him.”
Wood does not need to win every minute. He needs clean counters.
“Styles make fights. Whether I lose two rounds, three rounds, it doesn’t matter because I’ve always got that big punch in my locker. I will struggle to do a better job this time but I would like it to be more convincing and I’d like to do an even quicker job.
“He can say whatever he wants because on fight night I am going to batter him anyway.”
Warrington knows what went wrong.
“The game plan? Don’t get caught! I like to watch my fights back if I win, but I don’t like to watch them when I’m getting chinned. I went diving in last time against Leigh and it cost me.
“I’ve just got to concentrate on what I do well and stay switched on for every single second. I feel stronger than I ever have been.”
If Warrington starts with the jab, keeps his head off the center line, and works the body without smothering his own shots, he can drag Wood into deep water.
Start Times, Venue, Date and Live Stream Information
Date: February 21
Start time: 6:00 pm local time / 1:00 pm ET / 6:00 pm UK
Live Stream: DAZN
Venue: Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
Fight card:
Leigh Wood vs Josh Warrington, 12 rounds, super featherweight
Ishmael Davis vs Bilal Fawaz, 12 rounds, British super welterweight title
Dave Allen vs Karim Berredjem, 6 rounds, heavyweight
Sandy Ryan vs Karla Ramos Zamora, 10 rounds, WBC super lightweight title
Leo Atang vs Dan Garber, 6 rounds, heavyweight
How to watch: Available live worldwide on DAZN.
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