Nottingham’s WBA featherweight champion Leigh Wood 26-2 (16 KOs) came from behind in an extraordinary fight to score a spectacular twelfth round KO over former Irish Olympian Michael Conlan 16-1 (8 KOs) last night on home soil at Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, England.
Conlan established himself early in the bout scoring a heavy knockdown at the end of the opener, with the title holder being saved by the bell to end the session. Conlan continued to dominate Wood, landing frequently with clever counters and finding his mark with the lead left hook that dropped the champion early. The gritty Wood closed the distance in the middle rounds and found done success at close range, forcing Conlan to fight his fight. Conlan hurt Wood to the body in the late rounds but the champion responded equally to force the challenger onto the back foot. In round 10 Wood appeared to break through with a barrage of hurtful shots, leaving Conlan looking despondent for the first time in the bout, referee Steve Grey unfortunately interfered in the action and allowed Conlan off the hook. The 11th saw Wood score a knockdown which the visiting corner contested was a slip, regardless Conlan appeared to be comfortably leading and just needed to coast the final session. In a remarkable final round Leigh Wood took the initiative to force Conlan back to the ropes and apply constant pressure, as the challenger appeared to slip shots against the ropes Wood clipped him with a cluster of punches, forcing an exhausted Conlan to fall unconscious out of the ring. The time was 1:25.
Wood appeared to be a long way behind throughout the bout, but was surprisingly only a handful of points trailing at the time of stoppage. 104-103, 105-102, 104-103 on the official scoresheets.
The conclusion of the bout saw Conlan attended to by medics as a precaution and later rushed by ambulance to the hospital.
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