![\"Wood](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/wood-conlan-fight.jpg\")
<\/p>\nLeigh Wood just forgot, that\u2019s all. It was okay, too, because I understood why. I understood that he had other things on his mind that Thursday and that even his beloved Nottingham Forest Football Club struggled for real estate in that busy but focused mind nine days from a fight. That they were playing that evening, and that he had arranged for our interview to take place during the match itself, was something lost on Wood until it was suddenly upon us and set to happen. It was then that he asked if it could be brought forward an hour and fifteen minutes. It was then I remembered that I was about to talk to a boxer in the final days of training camp; a time when nothing else matters.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s unusual for them to be playing on a Thursday,\u201d Wood said when we spoke that night. Yet the day of the week was not the issue. In fact, by the time we spoke at 7pm, half an hour before kick-off, Wood had only just started to relax following a full day\u2019s training; meaning he had only just been granted permission to think of other things, other sports, small pleasures.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nottingham Forest, his team, has offered more than small pleasures for Wood and their legion of fans this season. Under the guidance of Nuno Esp\u00edrito Santos, the Midlands club have exceeded all expectations and currently sit sixth in the Premier League table, one spot outside the Champions League places. Not only that, the success of the team has had a galvanising effect on the city, something Wood hopes to feel when he fights Anthony Cacace at the Nottingham Arena this Saturday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom a motivational standpoint, I\u2019m not just on my own,\u201d said Wood, the city\u2019s most popular active fighter. \u201cI\u2019ve got a whole city behind me and it\u2019s a city I\u2019m proud to represent. They pick me up \u2013 almost literally pick me up \u2013 when I\u2019m down and out. They really get behind me on fight night.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not just my city, either. I\u2019ve got people travelling from all over the country to support me. It\u2019s incredible.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso, from a business point of view, if you\u2019ve got that volume of support, it really helps. There are a lot of fighters sitting around at the moment doing nothing; they can\u2019t get dates; they can\u2019t get fights. That\u2019s because they don\u2019t sell tickets. But, with me, because I\u2019ve got that volume and have shown I can sell arenas up here, and also in Manchester and Sheffield, they know what I bring to the table.\u201d<\/p>\n
With ticket-sellers now a dying breed, fighters like Wood, a former WBA featherweight champion, have set themselves apart and, yes, become valuable assets in British boxing. Indeed, Wood provides solid evidence that a boxer does not need to make outlandish remarks, pretend to be something they are not, or spend every waking moment on social media in order to be considered marketable by promoters and financiers. He is instead popular, particularly in Nottingham, on account of his everyman appeal and, more importantly, the value for money he represents on fight night.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt does feel different, to be honest,\u201d Wood said of the experience of fighting at home. \u201cThe atmosphere is a little bit better and you hear all the chants. I remember watching [Carl] Froch when I was a kid and whenever he boxed in Nottingham it was like a choir echoing around the ring when they would sing and chant. Then I watched him against [Mikkel] Kessler at the O2 [Arena] in London and it just wasn\u2019t the same. The atmosphere wasn\u2019t even half as good. It was pretty poor, to be honest. The arena was big, but there weren\u2019t as many fans from Nottingham there and they couldn\u2019t dominate the place like they would at home. It\u2019s really special when you go to a fight and the bulk of the people there are from that city and know all the chants.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSaying that, I\u2019ve got Derby [County Football Club] fans who message me and tell me they\u2019re coming to support me. Even they sing along to some of the Forest songs. They cross enemy lines for one night only.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Saturday there will no doubt be a few more Derby County fans in attendance at the Nottingham Arena, each of them trying their best to remain covert but no less committed to the cause. From the first bell to the fight\u2019s conclusion, they will make peace with the Nottingham Forest fans all in the name of getting behind Wood and ensuring that this appearance in Nottingham turns out better than his last one. Last time, of course, Wood found himself stopped in seven rounds by Mauricio Lara, whom he then defeated by decision in a rematch in Manchester three months later. That loss, as regrettable as it was, left Wood not so much traumatised as impatient. He wanted to exorcise any demons as soon as he could.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to go straight back [to Nottingham], but for that rematch to happen so fast it had to take place in Manchester,\u201d he explained. \u201cI was then expecting a homecoming fight against [Josh] Warrington, but that didn\u2019t happen, and we ended up fighting in Sheffield. So the last time I won in Nottingham was the [Michael] Conlan fight [March 2022], and I didn\u2019t get to celebrate that night because I thought I had really hurt him. Hopefully on Saturday I\u2019ll get to celebrate properly in front of my own fans in my home city.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Should that be the case, Wood, 28-3 (17), will be seen celebrating with a junior-lightweight belt (the IBO title) around his waist rather than the featherweight belts he used to win and parade when somehow weighing nine stone. It will, like all his belts of late, be just that little bit looser; that little bit more comfortable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only difference [going from featherweight to junior-lightweight] is that I\u2019m not feeling as anxious about the weight,\u201d he said. \u201cUsually it is really, really hard for me to make the weight and not worry about it. It would always be in the back of my mind, that thought: Will I be able to make it? I\u2019m pretty much walking around at a similar weight now [as he was when a featherweight], but my cut isn\u2019t as drastic and I have those extra four pounds. I still have to come down a long way, but if I had got complacent about it and put more weight on during camp, it would have ended up being the same cut [as featherweight]. I was trying to avoid that, so the cut isn\u2019t as drastic. That\u2019s what we\u2019ve done. If you saw the numbers at featherweight, you would think it\u2019s mad, frightening.\u201d<\/p>\n
If a safety net of four pounds teases the possibility of a happier and improved Leigh Wood this weekend, working in direct opposition to that is the number 19. That is the number of months between Wood\u2019s last fight, against Josh Warrington in October 2023, and his next one against Cacace.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Far from ideal, the 19 months Wood has spent away from the ring can be attributed to more than one injury and is something that will naturally have people wondering about the impact of ring rust.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s down to the individual,\u201d Wood said when asked about that. \u201cI say it all the time: I\u2019m out the ring but not the gym. I\u2019m very professional and always striving to be better. I stay fit regardless of what is happening and do whatever I\u2019m able to do. When my leg was injured, I was still shadowboxing, and I always look at what I can do rather than what I can\u2019t do. I think that\u2019s been a key factor for me. I\u2019ve been in situations before where I\u2019ve had to have a year out because of an injury and it\u2019s really done my head in. Back then I had no money, hadn\u2019t won anything, and nobody knew who I was. I was 30 years old and had everything stacked against me. But I kept strong and kept doing what I could do. It then paid off. I use the same mindset now, even though I\u2019ve now achieved a few things and made a few quid. I\u2019ve still not finished.\u201d<\/p>\n
For any 36-year-old featherweight, the thought of being inactive for almost a year and a half would be considered inconvenient, at best, and, at worst, the beginning of the end. But for Wood it\u2019s not just about peak performing years and the maximising of his physical potential. It is also about capitalising on momentum and building on that fine run of wins against Conlan, Lara and Warrington. Those, ideally, should have led to even bigger fights, as well as Wood cementing his reputation as Britain\u2019s most exciting fighter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Instead, he resigned himself to watching everyone else fight from the sidelines. Last year he watched Anthony Cacace shock IBF champion Joe Cordina in eight rounds. He then watched Cacace beat Warrington over 12.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe [Cacace] was on my radar for all of 2024,\u201d Wood said. \u201cI wanted that fight before Warrington but I was injured and wouldn\u2019t be ready in time to fight him. So I had to wait a bit, fight Warrington, and here we are.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s had some really good wins and is in really good form. His confidence must be flying. I\u2018ve got to go out there and strangle that confidence out of him, round by round. That\u2019s what I\u2019ll do. I\u2019m not saying it\u2019s going to be easy, but I\u2019ve prepared perfectly for him and I know him better than he knows himself. I\u2019m as confident as he is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cacace, 23-1 (8), is a 35-year-old southpaw from Belfast whose biggest moments have come in the past 12 months. He is also someone whose power belies his knockout percentage and whose recent wins have seen him attack opponents with the conviction of someone certain they can break their heart.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In that respect, he and Wood are kindred spirits. For if there\u2019s one thing Leigh Wood has now almost mastered, it is breaking hearts when the going gets tough. \u201cI\u2019m prepared for it,\u201d he said of the possibility of yet another war on Saturday. \u201cAm I expecting it? You never know what to expect, to be honest. I just go out there and do what I do and I\u2019ll get the win at any cost, by hook or by crook.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just comes naturally to me,\u201d he added. \u201cYou get in there and if that\u2019s what it takes, that\u2019s what it takes. The Can Xu fight [in 2021] was down to tactics, and I got that bang on; it was a breeze considering I only had a few weeks of training for that fight. The second Lara fight [in 2023], I prepared really well for and that was a cruise, too, because I knew him really well and knew what he was doing and when he was going to do it. I just kept him under control. This fight will have its moments, I\u2019m sure. But I still expect to be in control.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whenever in the ring, Wood is able to establish the sort of control few get to experience in everyday life. Even when he is seemingly not in control, as was the case for periods against both Conlan and Warrington, Wood perseveres, knowing that it is better to be fighting and still have a chance than to be hurt and not fighting at all. He also knows that for as long as he is upright, punching, and winning, he will to some extent remain in control of his destiny and keep Father Time on the end of his jab.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll see, but probably 12 months from now,\u201d he said when asked about retirement. \u201cI\u2019m just taking it fight by fight at the moment. I\u2019m not too sure yet. I want that City Ground fight, but you sometimes need a bit of luck in terms of finding the right opponent at the right time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Later that Thursday evening, the City Ground played host to Nottingham Forest\u2019s 2-0 loss against Brentford, a result that dented Forest\u2019s hopes of claiming one of the five available Champions League spots. With three games to go, however, this team of so-called overachievers will now look to follow the example set by their city\u2019s favorite fighting son. They will keep going, keep trying, and keep believing. They will continue to throw punches at their target and stop only once they get what they want.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Leigh Wood just forgot, that\u2019s all. It was okay, too, because I understood why. I understood that he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":79676,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4108],"tags":[38859,1935,38858,79,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-79675","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-anthony-cacace","9":"tag-boxing","10":"tag-leigh-wood","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114462004595462498","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79675"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79675\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}