Leigh Wood didn’t need a sanctioning body resolution to feel like a reigning champion.
He just needed the ruling to clear the path for the fights he truly desired—and for any shot at carrying over any momentum gained from his biggest career highlight to date.
An alarming portion of what should have been a breakout 2022 campaign for Wood was instead spent waiting out a WBA featherweight title consolidation clash with Leo Santa Cruz that ultimately never saw the light of day. The fight was ordered and tabled on several occasions, at one point with a deal seemingly reached before it once again headed back to a purse bid hearing. It finally ended with Santa Cruz giving up his WBA ‘Super’ title. Wood entered the equation as the WBA ‘Regular’ titlist before receiving his long overdue upgrade, though the reality was that he was the only one putting in the work from the time he first claimed the belt.
“I get the confusion. In my eyes, I was the true (WBA) champion when I beat Xu Can,” Wood told BoxingScene.com. “Leo didn’t fight at featherweight all those years and nobody thought he was coming back to the division.
“For me, I won that fight and became the champion. Of course, now it’s official and I can move into the big fights, the unification fights.”
Wood (26-2, 16KOs) won the secondary version with a 12th round stoppage of Can in August 2021. His most notable feat to date came in his spectacular 12th round knockout of unbeaten mandatory challenger Michael Conlan last March 12 in his hometown of Nottingham, England. Wood was dropped in the opening round and down on all three scorecards even after a dramatic 11th round knockdown before sending Belfast’s Conlan through the ropes and out of the ring with just 95 seconds left in the contest.
Meanwhile, Santa Cruz (37-2-1, 19KOs) held the ‘Super’ title hostage, having not fought at the weight since a February 2019 win over Ricardo Rivera. Three straight fights followed at junior lightweight preceding the WBA’s call last April for Santa Cruz and Wood to enter talks for their ordered title consolidation bout.
“There was times I thought it was a possibility,” Wood said of an actual fight with Santa Cruz. “I never believed it would happen over here (in England). When we got word that they were willing to work it out, I figured we’d have to fight him in Vegas or somewhere else in the U.S.
“I was on the fence with it because it was horrible emotionally. That’s finally been put to bed. I get to move on with my career.”
Next up for Wood is a dangerous title defense versus Mexico City’s Mauricio ‘Bronco’ Lara (25-2-1, 18KOs), who brings a 15-fight unbeaten streak into their February 18 DAZN headliner at Nottingham Arena. Despite once again enjoying hometown advantage, Wood enters as a +200 betting underdog according to bet365 sportsbook, who has seen Lara bet up to -275 from -250 just one week ago even as the visiting challenger.
It’s a role to which Wood has grown accustomed, entering as the underdog in wins over Can and Conlan. Even more is at stake in this fight, as Wood is finally eligible to land the unification bouts he couldn’t previously pursue as a secondary titleholder.
“That’s the good thing, really. The big fights are still there even if they didn’t come at the time I wanted,” noted Wood, who has won his last three starts and all inside the distance. “We’re still looking at [former two-time IBF titiist] Josh Warrington later this year after I get past Lara. Instead of a unification, I will be defending my title against him.
“We wanted the Conlan rematch right away but now that could be a unification if he beats [current IBF titlist] Luis Alberto Lopez. Or we could unify with Lopez. All of the fights that I’ve really wanted are still right there. It’s just happening in a different order because of all the WBA stuff but that’s behind me now.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox