Leigh Wood didn’t need another comeback knockout to beat Josh Warrington in tonight’s DAZN main event from Nottingham, England. The 37 year old Wood looked the best he’s been in years, working from distance and comprehensively outboxing Warrington to a wide decision victory in the rematch of their October 2023 meeting.
Wood (29-4, 17 KO) fought from the second round on with his hands at his hips, peppering Warrington from distance while Warrington struggled to get inside and execute his own attack.
Warrington (32-5-1, 8 KO) never stopped advancing, and did have a few eye catching shots land over the course of the night, including one that bloodied Wood’s nose early. But, Wood consistently controlled the action as the fight settled into a routine and the crowd enthusiasm died off significantly.
Judges scored the fight 119-109, 119-110, and 117-111 in favor of Wood. Bad Left Hook had it unofficially 118-110 for Wood.
Warrington applauded the decision, waved and gestured love to his fans, and said “something felt off” compared to past years in the immediate aftermath of the fight. He stopped short of announcing a retirement or declaring his intent to fight again, but spent a lot of time thanking the fans that have supported him through his career.
Bilal Fawaz takes British and Commonwealth belts from Ishmael Davis
Bilal Fawaz fought a risky plan to perfection, upsetting Ismael Davis in a fight that was close on a round-by-round basis, but completely dominated by Fawaz in the latter half. Fawaz started rough, standing tall and awkward and giving up a lot of early rounds. But his unconventional style and aggressive posturing led to success in the middle rounds, were he dominated a visibly exhausted Davis.
Judges gave it to Fawaz on official scores of 115-113, 115-114, and 114-114. I had it unofficially even at 114-114, but that draw score came with every remotely debatable round going to Davis on my scorecard.
Fawaz’s biography so far reads like something co-written by Dickens and Kafka. But, he exits tonight a champion, wearing two domestic super welterweight titles for a country that, as Eddie Hearn pointed out in the post-fight interview, won’t even give him a passport.
Undercard results
- Dave Allen basically walked straight in and out through the ring, knocking Karim Berredjem down within the first few seconds of the fight and finishing him off for good not much later. Berredjem looked like he’d given up on the night before he even made it to the ring. Crowd had a blast seeing Allen dominate, and he’ll remain a ticket seller for the foreseeable future.
- Sandy Ryan claimed the WBC super lightweight title over Karla Ramos Zamora by majority decision. Zamora earned a draw on one card, well deserved after a courageous performance in a very entertaining fight. Ryan took the other two cards 97-93 by virtue of her superior boxing in the rounds where she could keep Zamora at distance enough to do it. The Ryan cards were reasonable, but only gave Zamora the minimal amount of credit for her three clear rounds. Good fight, worth the replay if you missed it live.
- Leo Atang won by 1st round stoppage over Dan Garber in a little over a minute of action. Finish may have been a little fast with the benefit of replay, but Garber looked wobbly and troubled in live action, and couldn’t get himself out of a bad corner. Another KO for the 19 year old Atang, who was humble and honest about how much work remains to be done during his post-fight interview.
