WBA featherweight champion Leigh Wood (26-2, 16 KOs) spectacularly knocked out in the twelfth round of the bronze medalist of the Olympic Games Michael Conlan (16-1, 8 KOs) in the main event of the evening at Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, England.
Conlan was able to send Wood to a heavy knockdown at the end of the first round, and a bell saved Wood from an early defeat. Conlan continued to punish Wood in the second round and outboxed him until the end of the fight. Wood was able to get a knockdown in the eleventh round, but Conlan was clearly heading for a confident victory on points, until in the twelfth round Wood finally caught up with Conlan and knocked him out of the ring through the ropes. The time was 1:25.
Wood noticeably conceded in the middle of the fight, but he reduced Conlan's lead to 104-103, 105-102, 104-103 on the judges' notes before the final round.
Conlan was carried out on a stretcher and taken to the hospital by ambulance. Upon arrival at the hospital, he remained conscious and doctors assessed his condition as stable. After an MRI and a few stitches in the hospital, a few hours later, Conlan began to post on social networks, in which he expressed his desire for a rematch.
“Reviewed the fight, it definitely needs to be repeated!" Conlan wrote on social media. "I won on points, and in the eleventh round I just slipped. Fatigue began to show, and I missed a good punch to the temple, which I did not see. Congrats to Wood, you're a damn tough bastard, but let's do it one more time."
