50-50 contest headlines mouthwatering world title weekend boxing showpiece

By Jared Parry

WORLD championship boxing returns to Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena this weekend as  Leigh Wood (25-2) makes his first defence of his WBA world featherweight title against Belfast’s Michael Conlan (16-0), live on DAZN.

Wood, who will fight in front of a hometown crowd, captured world honours in his last fight, defeating Xu Can with an emphatic 12^th round knockout at Matchroom’s Fight Camp.

Wood was always highly rated by British crowds, but in March 2020 he suffered a setback as he was defeated by Jazza Dickens.

Following the Dickens defeat, Wood opted to change trainers and is now under the watchful eye of Ben Davison, a well respected trainer known for being the man who trained Tyson Fury for his comeback Davison believes Wood is the hardest puncher he has ever trained.

Wood has changed his style under Davison to showcase his power and instantly hit the ground running with a seventh round knockout of Reece Mould in February 2021 to capture the British title.

Wood was then given the opportunity to fight for the world title five months later and came in as the heavy underdog against Xu Can. But he relished his chance and executed his game plan perfectly as he beat Can in style in the 12th round.

Conlan meanwhile was well known for his stellar amateur career, which included a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics. He also competed in the 2016 Olympics and went viral after getting robbed of a result and going on a vicious tirade of words in the post-fight interview, calling the commissioners ‘rotten to the core’.

Conlan’s amateur success gave him a springboard when turning pro, and he found himself signed to a promotional deal with Bob Arum’s Top Rank in 2017. Conlan has an undefeated record as a pro, and finds himself mandatory challenger for Woods’ WBA title in what is viewed as a 50-50 contest.

The undercard sees the return of former WBC super featherweight world champion Terri Harper (11-1-1) as she looks to get back to winning ways after losing her world title last time out.

Harper was due to face Heather Hardy, a former world champion herself, but a wrist injury forced Hardy out of the fight. Harper now faces the Argentinian Yamila Belen Abellaneda (13-4-1).

Undefeated Irish prospect Gary Cully (13-0) steps up his level of opposition by facing the veteran Miguel Vazquez (44-10). Vazquez is a former world champion, but his best days are behind him and he is now seen as a lightweight gatekeeper

That said, he is a tough, durable man, who can certainly still cause an upset against anyone, so Cully will have to prove his quality here.

The rest of the card sees Sandy Ryan (3-0) face her toughest test yet against former world champion Erica Farias (26-5). Caoimhin Agyarko (10-0) returns to the ring looking to build on his recent string of impressive performances, this time facing Juan Carlos Rubio (18-1). Thomas Whittaker Hart (5-0) looks to extend his unbeaten record against Simon Krebs (3-1-1), whilst heavyweight Thomas Carty (3-0) will look to add another victory to his record facing Michal Boloz (2-3-2).

Finally, we se Nico Leivars make his professional debut, as he faces Jose Hernandez (4-38-1).