By Jared Parry
A packed out Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham witnessed local fighter Leigh Wood produce a valiant comeback to brutally knock out Belfast’s Michael Conlan in an early fight of the year contender.
Wood began the fight on the front foot applying the pressure early. However, in the dying embers of the first round, Conlan detonated a left hook which floored Wood on the bell.
The second round saw Conlan pick up where he left off, causing the home fighter to enter survival mode. Conlan got up close and reigned the punches in but picked up a cut in the process.
Wood tighten up his defence for the next couple of rounds while Conlan continued to apply the pressure.
As we entered the 8th round, it was visible that Conlan was the more fatigued of the two men, and as the round was approaching its end, the two men traded blows in the centre of the ring.
Wood was still trailing in the fight but had certainly got himself back into it, as he continued to sap away Conlan’s energy with hard, high paced rounds.
The 11th round once again saw the two men stand and trade, and it was Wood who came out on the top, scoring a knockdown at the end of the round.
Heading into the final round, the general consensus was that Wood needed a knockout to retain his belt, and he did so in style.
Wood instantly piled the pressure onto Conlan, forcing the Belfast man onto the ropes, it was clear that Wood had won the battle of attrition as Conlan looked exhausted.
Conlan found himself backed up against the ropes as Wood reigned in the combinations, leading to Conlan helplessly falling through the ropes to the floor.
The jubilant celebrations from Wood’s team were cut short as it was clear to see Conlan was in a bad way, Wood asked his home support to stop their celebrations. Conlan left the arena on a stretcher.
Conlan tweeted out later that he was okay and that he wants to ‘run it back’ with Wood.
Following the fight, Wood consoled his opponent by saying: “I’m just thinking about Mick now. It was a bad knockout.”
Promoter Eddie Hearn echoed Wood’s words by saying: “We should be celebrating one of the best knockouts I’ve ever seen, but our thoughts are with Michael right now.”
The undercard saw the undefeated Gary Cully step up and knockout Miguel Vazquez with a clinical one-two combination in the fifth round.
Rising star Caoimhin Agyarko extended his unbeaten reckon, comprehensively outboxing Juan Carlos Rubio over 10 rounds. Terri Harper returned to winning ways, although getting cut in the third round as she defeated Yamila Belen Abellaneda on points.
Sandy Ryan was dealt her first loss as Erica Farias proved to be a step too far and too soon as Ryan found herself on the losing end of a split decision.
Light-Heavyweight Thomas Whittaker-Hart and Heavyweight Thomas Carty both recorded knockout victories to bolster there undefeated records.
Finally, Nico Leivars impressed on his debut as he recorded a unanimous decision victory over Jose Hernandez.