Wood vs Warrington can be fight of the year and I'm backing the counter-puncher

06 October 2023 , 14:54

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Leigh Wood fights Josh Warrington in Sheffield (Image: George Wood/Getty Images)

This has all the makings of a great British classic, the more so because neither WBA featherweight champion Leigh Wood nor challenger Josh Warrington can afford to lose in Sheffield.

Though Wood, 35, is the elder by three years, he has fewer miles on the clock. If Warrington loses this will be the last we see of him at 126 pounds. It could be the last we see of him full stop. The jeopardy enhances the spectacle, and if it catches fire as I anticipate, this could easily be a fight of the year contender.

It depends on how much Warrington has left, how much resistance, how well he can take a shot. He took a heavy beating to Mauricio Lara after giving up his IBF title two years ago. Wood was also stopped by Lara back in February in the first defence of the WBA title he won so spectacularly against Michael Conlon.

Though he avenged the defeat in May, he is vulnerable too, which adds to the intrigue. Warrington is not a big puncher but the volume is very high. Wood is clever with good footwork and a nice jab. He can bang with the right hand and has a good left hook.

Warrington is a better attacking fighter than Conlan but he has had more wear and tear. And he is big for the weight, so has had to boil down again to make the featherweight limit.

Leigh Wood vow to step towards Josh Warrington status with Mauricio Lara win

Warrington has a chance but he must box cleverly and not get walked onto a shot. He has to move in and out of punching distance at a high pace, use his jab, land his scoring shots and get back out quickly.

Leigh Wood is defending his WBA title (George Wood/Getty Images)

Wood will fall into the role of counter puncher, boxing on the back foot, trying to set up the right hand and left hook. I think Warrington will have some success early on but something tells me he will get caught coming in and stopped in the championship rounds.

Being a volume puncher myself, I know how much that takes out of you. And Warrington has had some hard nights. He relies on his conditioning and his pace. It is the only way he can win. He has the ability to outbox Wood and take a points victory. But that is not what the old tea leaves are telling me.

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Barry McGuigan