Leigh Wood will defend his world featherweight title for the first time on home turf as top tier championship boxing returns to Nottingham.
WBA 'regular' world featherweight champion Wood will face Michael Conlon at the Motorpoint Arena on March 12, it was confirmed today.
The bout will be shown live on DAZN after Wood won the title off China's Xu Can last July in an upset. Conlan's last fight was a WBA Interim World title win over TJ Doheny at Falls Park back in August.
"I will have a big advantage size wise and power wise, but I can't overlook him. His skill set, World amateur gold, Olympian, medal at the Olympics. He is very good at hitting and not getting hit which is the name of the game," Wood told iFLTV.
"But sometimes he has a bit of an ego and likes to get shots back straight away. He does make a lot of mistakes which we are analysing in great detail.
"But it makes for a great fight. These two styles will make a great fight, and hopefully it is in my home city in Nottingham."
Speaking in a recent interview with the Irish News, Conlan strangely had other ideas when it came to support levels: “I'll probably have more people in the arena than Leigh Wood.
"Everybody loves an away-day, it's the third month of the year and I could see a lot of people travelling over. I think they'll have a great night."
Wood had hoped to fight at the City Ground and still retains that ambition, but if he has disappointed not to be fighting at the home of his beloved Nottingham Forest, the arena will be a fine consolation.
