Former Olympian Michael Conlan will face contender Leigh Wood in an important 126-pound bout Saturday night in Nottingham, England.
Leigh Wood (25-2, 15 KOs) vs. Michael Conlan (16-0, 8 KOs)
- Date: Saturday, March 12
- Time: 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT (main event later in show)
- Where: Nottingham Arena, Nottingham
- TV/Stream: DAZN
- Cost: $19.99 per month or $99.99 annually
- Division: Featherweight
- Rounds: 12
- At stake: WBA secondary title
- Pound-for-pound ranking: None
- Odds: Conlan 1½-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
- Also on the card: Terri Harper vs. Yamila Belen Abellaneda, lightweights; Caoimhin Agyarko vs. Juan Carlos Rubio, middleweights; Gary Cully vs. Miguel Vazquez, lightweights
- Prediction: Conlan UD
- Background: 2016 Olympian Michael Conlan could take a significant step Saturday toward his first world title shot. The 30-year-old Irish fighter takes on contender Leigh Wood of England is the biggest test of his pro career, which started in 2017. Conlan, from Belfast, is coming off a wide unanimous-decision victory over TJ Doheny in August of last year, seven months ago. That followed a scare against Ionut Baluta, who lost a majority decision to Conlan the previous April. Wood, a secondary WBA titleholder, is considered a Top 10 126-pounder worldwide. The native of Nottingham lost a tight majority decision to Jazza Dickens in February 2020 but has won two in a row since, a ninth-round TKO of Reece Mould a year later and a 12th-round TKO of Can Xu this past July to win his secondary belt. Leo Santa Cruz is the WBA champion. Wood is 33, which adds urgency for him. He needs to move quickly if he hopes to fight for a major world title.