Leigh Wood outpoints Josh Warrington in Nottingham rematch

Leigh Wood comfortably outpointed josh warrington in a charged grudge rematch at Nottingham's Motorpoint Arena, leaving Warrington and his team publicly weighing retirement after a fifth career defeat. The result extended Wood's advantage in the rivalry and left both fighters hinting at the possibility of walking away.

Decisive unanimous verdict at Motorpoint Arena

Wood won a unanimous decision after 12 rounds at the sell-out 8, 000-capacity Motorpoint Arena, taking the scorecards 119-109, 119-109 and 117-111. He dictated the tempo across the fight while a frustrated, flat-footed Warrington struggled to get his shots away. The clash followed their first meeting in 2023 in Sheffield, when Wood stopped Warrington with a decisive punch in the seventh round.

Round-by-round action and key moments

Wood edged a scrappy first round before Warrington landed a sharp right hook and a straight right in the second. Wood settled into a southpaw rhythm, slowing the pace and picking shots from range, landing a crisp combination in the fifth. Warrington drew blood from Wood's nose with a single right in that same round. Over the 12 rounds Wood landed almost double the amount of punches as Warrington.

Records, ages and titles at stake

Warrington is the 35-year-old 'Leeds Warrior' and a two-time featherweight world champion with a professional record of 32-5-1, 8 KOs, the fifth defeat of his 38-bout career. Wood, 37, is also a former featherweight world champion and improves to 29 wins with four defeats; his record is shown as 29-4 with 17 KOs.

Josh Warrington, his future and his father's plea

Warrington was non-committal on his future and said he would not rush a decision, adding: "It's too tough a game to be turning up for an opponent and being second best. " He spoke of being a winner and of sometimes hearing a feeling to retire: "Today in my hotel room, there's moments where I hear that feeling [to retire]. I've got some serious thinking to do going forward but probably have to make a decision sooner rather than later. " He also described the emotional toll of supporters' sacrifices: "Yeah, my bottom lip was trembling. You've got people spending their hard earned money to come to fight. Some of these guys have followed me miles and miles, sacrificed so much. Weddings, funerals, birthdays. If this were the last one, it all stops, and you don't get those moments again. It's scary to think about. "

His father and trainer, Sean O'Hagan, urged him to stop now. O'Hagan praised his son as "a great ambassador not just for boxing but the city of Leeds itself" and said Warrington was "just lacking that 10-15% tonight. Everything was in place and he just wasn't getting it tonight. " He added: "So I think there comes a time... As a fighter, they know themselves. You can't tell them when they're done. I would like to see him stop now. It's a dangerous sport. I think it's time now to wrap it up. "

Leigh Wood hints this could be his last fight and lashes out at rival

Wood suggested the rematch might be his final fight, saying: "This could be my last one. It could be. I'm not saying it is but it could be. " He spoke about family sacrifices: "What a fight to finish on if that is the last one. It's getting harder and harder to be away from my kids. They sacrifice as much as me. " Wood described the Nottingham atmosphere as giving him "another gear" and called it "probably my superpower. " He referenced his career highlights — a WBA featherweight world title, a dramatic knockout of Michael Conlan and avenging a defeat to Mauricio Lara — and reiterated that he had stopped Warrington in their first meeting. On Warrington's post-fight suggestion that he had been on course to win the first fight, Wood said: "He's very delusional. I don't think he knows what was going on. I don't think he's actually watched the fight back round by round, because if he did he'd realise he wasn't winning the fight that convincingly. It's irrelevant anyway because it didn't go the distance and I can't see this one going the distance. "

Rivalry atmosphere and entrances that reflected local loyalties

The rivalry intensified the charged atmosphere: Warrington walked out to the Leeds United anthem "Marching On Together, " which segued into Kaiser Chiefs' "I Predict a Riot, " while the home crowd was louder when Wood emerged wearing sunglasses to Nottingham Forest's rendition of "Mull of Kintyre. " The home fans sang "Leigh Wood is one of our own" as Wood soaked in the moment and settled into his southpaw approach.