Leigh Wood (28-4, 17 KOs) will soon face Josh Warrington (32-4-1, 8 KOs) in a rematch at super featherweight.
Their 12-round bout headlines a Matchroom Boxing card at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, England. Fight fans around the world can catch the action live on DAZN.
Both men spoke at a press conference ahead of their Feb. 21 clash. Below is some of what they had to say.
Leigh Wood vs. Josh Warrington 2 press conference quotes
Leigh Wood
“I’m confident,” said Wood. “That’s not me thinking ‘oh it’s going to be easier’ because I don’t think it’s going to be easier. I’m not expecting it to be easy nor do I really want it to be easy because I actually feel better when I have to go through a little bit and get the victory as you’ve seen in previous fights. But, I’m confident. I know what I need to do. It’s a lot clearer. Massive thank you to everyone filling that arena so quick. Supporting Nottingham is unbelievable…”
Josh Warrington
“Absolutely [I can win this by stoppage],” said Warrington.“Absolutely. That’s the only way I see it going, to be honest with you. I can’t really see what Leigh’s going to do differently to make it go quicker because he tried to push me in the first fight. We boxed him, we outfought him, pushed him back to the ropes, went on the back foot. We did everything we had to do, but obviously left ourselves very open and he did catch me with a fantastic shot and then five clean ones after that…We know what not to do this time and what to press on a little bit more with. I’m very, very confident that the fight will go early.”
Fight prediction
Warrington was ahead in the first fight between the pair before getting hit with six punches that sent him to the canvas, ultimately putting an end to proceedings. He has not been particularly active over the past two years and will probably struggle to remain switched on for all 12 rounds in the rematch. Wood will likely get outboxed for most of the rematch, but he has what it takes to get the stoppage late. Expect a come-from-behind victory for the man from Nottingham with a stoppage between rounds 10-12.
Full press conference
For the press conference in its entirety, click here or the play button below. Video courtesy of Matchroom Boxing.
Currently writing out of Toronto, Canada, Saadeq first became a boxing fan while living in Doha, Qatar. Looking to become more involved in the sport, he began writing about boxing and has had work published in outlets such as Seconds Out and Boxing Social. He looks forward to continue covering boxing on Big Fight Weekend.
