Leigh Wood, in an absolute rollercoaster of a fight, pulled a fast one on Josh Warrington to secure his WBA featherweight world title. All I can say is, if you missed it, you missed out!
Entering the arena with whispers of doubt, many were skeptical of Warrington’s chances, given his recent record of 1-2-1 in his last four fights. But let’s get real here: this isn’t his first rodeo. Josh Warrington, a former two-time IBF world champ, was like, “Challenge accepted!” and launched into the fight without any dilly-dallying.
Starting with a bang, Warrington threw combos left, right, and center. Leigh Wood, however, wasn’t about to be overshadowed. He quickly turned the tables in the second half of the first round, serving Warrington some good old southpaw jabs and lefts.
Round two saw Wood, well, come out of the woods. With precision and rhythm, he played his jabs just right, making Warrington taste a few of his crafted combos. And boy, by round three, Warrington was all fire, pushing Wood against the ropes, sprinkling in some heavy hooks.
Fast forward to round four and five: Warrington was hitting all the right notes, targeting Wood’s body and then finishing with a flourish up top. Pure artistry!
But round seven? Oh boy! Drama alert! After being repeatedly told to watch the back of the head punches (I mean, come on, Josh), the ref took a break from munching on his popcorn to deduct a point from Warrington. And trust me, that turned the tables!
While Warrington had been leading the excitement, Wood saw his chance and delivered. With the clock ticking down in round seven, Wood landed a power-packed right, followed by a flurry that dropped Warrington faster than my Wi-Fi connection.
Now, Warrington did manage to stand, albeit a bit shaky, but the ref wasn’t having any of it and ended the show. In the aftermath, Warrington, always the sport, acknowledged Wood’s exciting hit but did voice some, well, disagreements with the stoppage. To be honest, I saw his point. That bell rang, and he was up by eight. But hey, refs, am I right?
Meanwhile, Leigh Wood, now sitting pretty at 28-3 (with a not-too-shabby 17 KOs), may be looking to change divisions. Pre-fight, he’d confessed to struggling with the 126-pound weight. So, don’t be shocked if we see him spicing things up in the super-featherweight division soon.
All in all, an action-packed evening that’ll have us talking for days. To Josh and Leigh: Thanks for keeping us on the edge of our seats!
