Leigh Wood plucked a devastating knock out from the teeth of a beating to stop a marauding Josh Warringon in his tracks at the seventh round climax to a fight hewn from the tradition of great British fights.
A devastating combination of multiples lefts and rights sent Warrington to a canvas across which his blistering assaults had the WBA world featherweight champion in trouble of his own three or four times.
Wood did even more than win a thriller. He established himself as major force in the UK ring. Set himself up for a rise to super-featherweight and the chance to become a three-time, two division world champion. And, perhaps, most ecstatically of for a Nottingham Forest, the promise of fulfilling his dream of a mega-fight on his beloved City Ground.
Warrington has to mull over what comes next for him but he has nothing to feel ashamed of after giving his all in a stupendous war.
The Wood and Warrington tribes made their equi-distance pilgrimages from Nottingham and Leeds respectively to neutral Sheffield and took up battle cheering stations on opposite sides of a an arena curtained off at one end but pretty much full in its other two thirds.
Leigh Wood plucked a devastating knock out from the teeth of a beating to stop a marauding Josh Warringon in his tracks
A devastating combination of multiples lefts and rights sent Warrington to the canvas
True to form Warrington came storming out from the first bell but Wood was not to be bull-rushed
Thus they raised a suitable sound track for one of those domestic battles which have lit up British boxing down the decades.
The cheers began as soon as the big screens lit up with images in their dressing room.
Although Warrington’s followers may have been as bemused as the rest of us by the sight of him standing bare-chested in front of a mirror for several minutes.
The last couple of them pointing at is head. Presumable telling himself to use his boxing intellect as well as his storming work rate against a skilled opponent.
For Warrington this was a chance to join the celebrated ranks of three-time world champions. Not to be. For Wood the opportunity for more glory, probably one division higher at super-featherweight. For the loser, hard-to-swallow food for thought about his future.
The noise was marginally more deafening for the dynamic Warrington. Tempered by respect for the cultured Wood.
True to form Warrington came storming out from the first bell. But Wood was not to be bull-rushed and gave pretty much as good as he got in a blistering first round.
Wood unleashed the deadliest lefts and rights combinations of all to send Warrington down onto his back…..and out
Wood began settling to potentially lengthy task of imposing his skills and a frustrated Warrington was warned for a trademark lunge with his head. Then for a low blow as he hounded Wood onto the ropes.
The response from the Leeds Warrior was to stagger the champion with a left hook and then pummel him at the end of the third.
Amid Warrington’s clusters of assaults his left hook keep halting Wood in his tracks and bult him an early lead on my card. A succession of those blows had Wood in deep trouble at the end of the fifth.
The two brave men were delivering the electrifying clash of styles for which we had been hoping. The question was whether Warrington could keep up the pace, Warrington stay with it. The latter was helped when referee Michael Alexander deducted a point in the seventh for Warrington’s use of the head as a battering ram
Instantly, out of nowhere, Wood took heart from that advantage and unleashed the deadliest lefts and rights combinations of all to send Warrington down onto his back…..and out.
A sensational climax to brilliant fight.