Michael Conlan is poised to take his biggest step yet toward a shot at a major world title.
The two-time Olympian from Northern Ireland is scheduled to face secondary beltholder Leigh Wood of England in a 12-round featherweight fight Saturday night at Nottingham Arena in Nottingham, Wood’s hometown (DAZN).
A victory would position him directly under champion Leo Santa Cruz in the WBA rankings.
“I know what kind of performance is coming on Saturday night,” Conlan said Thursday at the final news conference before the fight. “This is the most relaxed and calm I’ve ever been in a fight week. I don’t feel any pressure, I’m here in the opponents back garden and I’ve got to rip the belt off him. Everyone’s here to see him. I’ve got fans coming in the thousands already, so it’s nothing new.
“I’m just here to do a job, I hope Leigh has had a fantastic training camp, I hope he’s the best Leigh Wood there’s ever been because I believe I will be. It’ll make it all the sweeter when I beat him.”
Conlan (16-0, 8 KOs) is best known worldwide for flipping off officials after he lost a controversial decision in the second round of the competition in 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
The Belfast fighter turned pro the following March and has known nothing but success, although he was fortunate to win a majority decision over Ionut Baluta in April of last year. He rebounded to defeat TJ Doheny by a wide decision in his most-recent fight, last August.
Conlan and his team are confident he’ll have his hand raised on Saturday, in part because of the pressure on Wood fighting in front of a large crowd at home.
Wood (25-2, 15 KOs) won his secondary belt by stopping Can Xu in the 12th round with virtually no one in attendance at the Matchroom Boxing headquarters amid the COVID-19 pandemic last July.
“I think that’s something that Leigh’s going to have to deal with, the mental stress he’s going to be under,” said former fighter Jamie Conlan, Michael’s brother and manager. “I saw it last night when he was doing his workout. There’s going to be mental pressure on him more so than on Michael.
“Michael has dealt with mental pressure throughout his career. He was thrown into the spotlight from day one. Leigh has done it when no one was watching. He won the world title in front of 25 people in your (promoter Eddie Hearn’s] back garden. “This is the big time, this is going to be where everyone is pressuring him on, expecting him to win, in his hometown as the favorite. In our hometown we’re the favorite, so the fans coming over are fully expecting Michael to win, fully expecting to be joyous on Saturday.
“… As a family we’re just ready, we’ve been waiting for this for a long time. Destiny is in front of us, and Leigh is just another object in the way.”
Meanwhile, Wood sounds as confident as Conlan and Co.
He’s had an up and down career that’s up at the moment. He was stopped by Gavin McDonnell in 2014, reeled off 12 victories after that, lost a majority decision to Jazza Dickens in February 2020 and then knocked out Reece Mould and Can Xu.
That led to his meeting with Conlan, which is his highest-profile fight.
“I’m buzzing to be here,” he said. “It’s been a long hard road to get here. Back in 2014, that was a terrible night. I knew the reasons behind it, and I went away and corrected it. Same with both of the defeats I’ve suffered. I went away, changed my team and improved as a fighter.
“I stayed disciplined, lived the life, and that’s why I’m bringing this big night back to Nottingham, I couldn’t be happier.”
We’ll see who’s smiling after the fight.
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