Nottingham’s Leigh Wood is desperate for his dream stadium fight
In a message posted on X yesterday, a current world champion revealed that he was no longer contracted to fight with Matchroom.
Leigh Wood, the reigning WBA featherweight champion, recently disclosed the news despite having spent a significant portion of his career under the promotional banner of Eddie Hearn.
Wood and Hearn have shared memorable moments in recent years such as Wood’s notable victories over Michael Conlan, Josh Warrington, and Mauricio Lara — the latter of which marked a remarkable turnaround from a previous knockout defeat in their initial encounter.
In his most recent bout against Warrington in October, Wood found himself trailing on the scorecards after the first seven rounds, only to stage a shock comeback and secure a decisive knockout victory.
Speaking to Boxing Social, Wood has added more detail, “For my last fight, the City ground kept being promised, but things didn’t line up because of the football season or the opponent or whatever obstacle was in the way, it didn’t happen.
“The Conlan fight was a big fight, I thought ‘right it’s got to happen after that’, then Lara 1 went back to the area, the rematch went to Manchester, then the Warrington fight was perfect for the City Ground but the time of year didn’t line up for me.”
Wood then explains he decided to put something into his contract about the stadium fight.
“I thought no matter what happens, if I win this fight, then I’m going to the City Ground and if you can’t deliver it for me you’re going to have to let me go and look at other avenues to get it done.
“I won the fight and it couldn’t be made. Nothing to do with Matchroom. I’m a free agent, I would like to end my career with Matchroom. I started with them, but whoever I sign with, I would like to get a plan in place for the City Ground next year.”
Warrington has expressed his eagerness for a rematch, with hopes that it could potentially take place at the Nottingham Forest stadium, a place cherished by Wood. However, such plans have yet to materialize.