LEIGH WOOD has described his coaching staff, led by Ben Davison, as “game changers” ahead of Saturday’s fight towards Josh Warrington.
Nottingham’s Wood defends his WBA featherweight title towards Leeds’ Warrington on impartial territory on the Sheffield Arena on Saturday (Oct 7) and at immediately’s ultimate press convention the topic of punch power was raised. With 64 fights between them, 24 have completed inside the space, but two thirds of these belong to Wood. The 35-year-old is a good puncher however doesn’t consider the fight will essentially come all the way down to who hits the toughest.
“Power probably won’t be the deciding factor on Saturday night,” Wood mentioned. “There are a lot of other things that go around it. The culture of the trainers in this country is like whoever wants it more will win; whoever is the strongest and hits the hardest will win; whoever’s the fittest will win. It’s a load of bollocks. And as my team is slowly coming [in] and changing the game, there’s a lot more to boxing than what people see. My perception has changed since being down with Ben (Davison) and you will see that on Saturday night.”
Sitting on the high desk to Wood’s left, with promoter Eddie Hearn sandwiched in between, Warrington demonstrated a larger perception and eagerness to win by stoppage on Saturday.
The 32-year-old former champion isn’t recognised as being heavy-handed however did handle to drive a seventh spherical TKO win over Kiko Martinez in March 2022, even when that was maybe prematurely ended by referee Marcus McDonnell. Prior to that Warrington had recorded simply two wins earlier than the ultimate bell in 10 fights – towards Patrick Hyland and Sofiane Takoucht, respectively.
“These days I can adapt, and my boxing brain has matured,” Warrington mentioned. “My power is developing; my strength has developed. It’s about being economical with punches rather than throwing 85 punch combinations. Set up shots a little bit more. You have different stages of your career and I feel like I’m in a good stage. It’s easy to say but I need to show it.”
He added: “My knockouts have come at championship stage; my stoppages have come when it’s mattered most.
“I know I can dig. [It was] my first 15 fights before I got [a] stoppage. People like to think I’m not a puncher but it’s also a bit down to my style. I’m not a one punch Edwin Valero puncher [but] I’ve got enough there to hurt Leigh and I’ll be very confident he doesn’t hear [the] final bell.”
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