Leigh Wood knows, better than most, about the impact of a late-fight knockout in a world championship bout. On March 12, 2022, in Nottingham, England, Wood was making the first defense of his WBA featherweight title against two-time Olympian Michael Conlan.
The fight hit the 12th and Conlan was ahead on the cards, seemingly on the way to a life-altering victory. Then, with less than two minutes remaining and the two trading blows in dramatic fashion, Wood caught Conlan with a right hand. Conlan's arms dropped limply to his side and one more right sent him through the ropes and out of the ring. The fight was stopped and Wood had completed a dramatic rally to save his belt.
Alexander was looking closely at him, though he appeared to be prepared to allow Wood to continue. As this was occurring, Wood trainer Ben Davison climbed the steps behind Wood. Just as it appeared Alexander would allow the fight to continue, Davison climbed up one more step and threw the towel in to signify he wanted the bout to be stopped.
Though Davison has trained world champions such as Wood, lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and one-time undisputed super lightweight champion Josh Taylor, he's only 30 and not the most experienced trainer. Freddie Roach, for instance, started training fighters under the legendary Eddie Futch in 1986, or six years before Davison was born.
Lara clearly knew time was running out in the seventh and wanted to get the job done without allowing Wood the benefit of the one-minute break. If Alexander hadn't ushered him back, Lara was close enough that he could have landed another significant shot to Wood's head. Had Alexander, though, pushed him back before allowing the fight to resume, the clock would have run out and Wood would have had the chance to recover.
The thing is, they all want to go on. They're fighters because they're the toughest among us. They put themselves through hell to get ready for fights and walk through punches with no expression change that would cause the rest of us to run for cover.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
'Ninth House' TV Series Update From 'Shadow and Bone' Author Leigh Bardugo: 'We Have a Pilot'Leigh Bardugo finally gives an update on the NinthHouse series adaptation.
Read more »
Oliver Wood, Cinematographer on ‘Bourne’ Franchise and ‘Face/Off,’ Dies at 80Wood, who got his start in the 1980s on 'Miami Vice,' also lensed 'Die Hard 2' and 'Talladega Nights' and earned a BAFTA nomination for 'The Bourne Ultimatum.'
Read more »
Oliver Wood, The Bourne Identity and Face/Off Cinematographer, Dead at 80Oliver Wood has passed away at age 80. The cinematographer was known for many films, especially in [...]
Read more »
Saskatoon city council preview: Snow removal, swale boundaries and elm wood disposalSaskatoon city council will meet Wednesday at City Hall, with decisions to make on borrowing to cover costs of a city-wide snow clear, setting boundaries for the Northeast Swale and how to handle elm wood at the city landfill. yxe
Read more »
Saskatoon city council preview: Snow removal, swale boundaries and elm wood disposalSaskatoon city council will meet Wednesday at City Hall, with decisions to make on borrowing to cover costs of a city-wide snow clear, setting boundaries for the Northeast Swale and how to handle elm wood at the city landfill. yxe
Read more »
Wood, Kiyosaki, Byrne call out Munger for fiery Tesla, crypto commentsCharlie Munger torched crypto and touted BYD over Tesla. Cathie Wood, Robert Kiyosaki, and Patrick Byrne just called him out.
Read more »