Leigh Wood hasn’t always looked the part. Hell, he was knocked out by Gavin McDonnell in 2014.
No matter how horrific the results, Wood has never allowed a mediocre performance to keep him down. Even after he came up short against James Dickens in 2020, he continued to believe, even while no one else did. A 12th-round knockout victory over Can Xu a year later allowed Wood to call himself a titleholder. All world champions, however, aren’t born equally.
In his next fight against Michael Conlan, most were expecting him to relieve Wood of his championship duties. That never happened. And while Mauricio Lara ripped his belt away just a few months later, Wood took back what belonged to him by scoring a unanimous decision victory.
Josh Warrington was just as confident as the rest of them. Earlier this month, the former beltholder sauntered to the ring wholeheartedly believing that he had more than enough skills to get the job done. To a certain degree, he was right. Warrington built an early lead and appeared to be on his way to a fairly easy win. That is until Wood (28-3, 17 KOs) nearly decapitated him in the seventh.
Eddie Hearn, having watched Wood for years, had seen enough. He recently claimed that not only is Wood an all-time great British fighter but also the best featherweight in the world.
Robeisy Ramirez (13-1, 8 KOs) isn’t arguing with the former but the latter? He has a huge issue with.
The current WBO 126-pound champ hasn’t lost a fight since his pro debut. He’s now preparing himself for another ring return before the end of 2023.
Fighting Wood this year would be incredibly unlikely but if Hearn would allow it in the near future, Ramirez would love to show him why he’s wrong.
“I respect what this has done, Eddie,” wrote Ramirez on his social media account. “But I like my chances against him every single day!”
That fight would have to take place at 130-pounds, as Wood recently decided to vacate his WBA title for an expected move to super featherweight.