Xu Can vs Leigh Wood – Who wins and why?
China's Xu Can (18-2, 3KOs) will clash with Nottingham's Leigh Wood (24-2, 14KOs) on the eagerly-awaited first week of Fight Camp, this Saturday (July 31) at the Matchroom Boxing headquarters in Essex.
Can-Wood replaces Conor Benn vs Adrian Granados as the headliner, following Benn returning a positive COVID-19 test on fight week.
Trained by Ben Davison, 32-year-old 'Leigh-thal' Wood is jumping up from British title level to World title level, but he is 100% confident in his ability to be able to dethrone the Chinese champion who hasn't lost any of his last 15 fights, which includes three world title contests.
'Monster' Can's brace of defeats occurred in his first five fights as a pro, back in 2014, and were mixed and split decisions. Trained by Pedro Diaz, he is now almost seven years unbeaten and is 3-0 in world championship fights, with all three of his career knockouts occurring during his last six fights.
All of Wood's last five victories have come via knockout, so he comes into this contest with a 100% KO ratio over his last five wins, and Can has a 50% KO ratio over his last six bouts, so there could be a high chance of a stoppage win for one of these featherweights.
BBN wanted to find out exactly what the industry experts think, so below is a list of predictions compiled by pro boxers, trainers, managers, promoters and writers:
Muhammad Ali Zahid
Unbeaten super-welterweight prospect
"I think Can Xu has a great start with his high work rate. Leigh will weather the storm early on and catch Xu with a big shot and knock him out in the later rounds – 7-10 rounds. It’s going to be a great fight, action packed!"
Kieran Gething
Welsh Area super-lightweight champion
"I haven’t seen much of Xu Can, but Leigh Wood has been progressing so well, and I don’t think MTK would have taken this jump had it not been the right decision."
Ben Davison
Leigh Wood's trainer
“I believe Leigh can do this. Pound for pound, he's the hardest puncher I've ever taken on the pads, by quite a long shot.
We’re very confident, fortunately Leigh was in the gym – he’s looked after himself all year round. This is the best prepared I’ve seen him physically, emotionally, tactically, we’re ready to go.
Anybody that knows Xu, knows he’s got phenomenal output and it’s up to us to deal with that. We believe we know what to do to solve it.
I believe 100% Leigh Wood will become World Champion on Saturday.”
Nick Ball
Unbeaten featherweight prospect
“I’ll be watching Leigh Wood’s fight, he’s the British champion and now he’s fighting for a world title! He’s strong and big for featherweight, but I haven’t seen much of his opponent, Xu Can, but you just can’t underestimate him.”
Tim Rickson
BBN Editor
"Of course, I'll be rooting for Leigh Wood to win this fight. It's a big jump up from British to World level, but it'll be interesting to see what improvements trainer Ben Davison has made since their last fight, now that they've had more time together. Davison will be integral to Wood's chances of victory, and who better to have in the corner than a man who has been there at this level and seen it all. He has said that this is the best prepared Wood has ever been and that he was in the gym constantly when they got the call for this fight, which is a great example to other boxers out there to show the importance of staying ready.
It's interesting to see that either fighter isn't known for knockouts, but have both had a lot of stoppages each in their last few fights. Davison claims that Wood is the hardest puncher he's ever taken on the pads, poud for pound, and he's had five stoppages from six of his last contests, and Can has had three from six, so that makes it all the more interesting.
The Chinese champion is known for being a swarmer and incredibly busy. When he won the world title he threw over 1200 punches! There's a good chance his game plan will be to pressure Wood early on with a high pace right from the off, to let the inexperienced challenger fade away gradually to either pick him off on points or force the stoppage. I'm pretty sure that Can's game plan will be to dictate the pace and go up or down in the gears as he seems fit. He definitely has a height and reach advantage, as well as experience at the highest level.
The odds for a draw are quite low, so that's certainly a possible outcome of this fight, but I hope that they were won't be any dodgy hometown scoring from the judges.
I'm hoping for a patient, disciplined performance from Wood to weather the early storm and to stay calm and controlled to win the WBA belt on points. Can is seasoned and undefeated in all three world championship contests, so it's more likely he will win this on points, however. But I wouldn't rule out a KO win from Wood either. Here's hoping!"
Anish Parekh
BBN Writer
"Xu Can's nickname, 'The Monster', sounds inappropriate considering the lack of power. His name doesn't exactly strike fear into opponents in the way Naoya Inoue does. Despite this, he is a good technical boxer with decent skills.
Leigh Wood will give it his all and have his moments but I just feel the movement and composure of Can will prove decisive in taking a clear but competitive decision.
Baring in mind that the fight is in the UK, the big story could be told on the scorecards. A Wood victory would only be excellent if deserved. However, it would be tainted and further tarnish the integrity of the sport if it comes due to the incompetent scoring that frequently plagues the sport."
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