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Leigh Wood has much riding on this weekend — in the boxing ring and on the pitch

Leigh Wood sits pensively on the edge of his sofa. A navy blue baseball cap covers his curled locks, and he stares intently down the lens of his smart phone.

“It’s make or break — this next week is going to be so important,” Wood (28-3, 17 KOs) tells Uncrowned.

The Nottingham fighter returns to England's Nottingham Arena to challenge IBO super featherweight champion Anthony Cacace (23-1, 8 KOs) on Saturday night live on DAZN, but this title fight is far from the reason for Wood’s nerves.

His beloved Premier League soccer team, Nottingham Forest, is enjoying a season beyond its wildest dreams. After surviving relegation by the skin of its teeth for the past two campaigns, an inspired nine months has seen the club challenge for a place in next season’s Champions League — the crème de la crème of European soccer — as well as reach its first FA Cup semifinal since 1991, when the former world champion Wood was just 3 years old.

It's the day after a loss to Manchester City in that semifinal at Wembley Stadium, and it’s clear sixth-place Forest — which faces Leicester City on Sunday — is still on Wood's mind.

“We knew it was going to be tough,” he tells Uncrowned. “Manchester City are so experienced in these type of matches, but we have to concentrate on the league now and make sure we make the top five. It’s been an incredible and surprising season — it’s pumped so much life into Nottingham after struggling for so many years to get back to near the top.”

It would be tempting to talk only soccer with Wood, but thanks to the conversational tangents, it’s impossible to ignore how much his hometown means to him.

Not since a 2023 loss to Mauricio Lara — who is now serving a two-year ban for a doping violation — has Wood fought in Nottingham, and welcoming Cacace on Saturday night is something the 36-year-old is relishing.

“It’s a community in Nottingham — and I am so lucky to be such a central part of that on fight night,” he says. “It’s hard to put a percentage on how much that crowd adds to my performance, but it’s something that I will always feed off. They are like a choir. They make the most incredible noise and even follow me around the country when I am not fighting at home.

“I always say that music and sport — and in this case, boxing — are so important as they allow people to come together as a whole, in some cases where they wouldn’t meet in other walks of life. If you’re going through good times or bad times, you are going through it together as a collective. They have literally picked me up off the canvas before and rallied behind me until the final bell.”

Wood, of course, is referencing his 2022 win over Michael Conlan, which saw him rally after being knocked down in the opening round. The performance capped off an incredible run of three wins for Wood that saw him scoop the British featherweight title against Reece Mould and the WBA (Regular) featherweight world championship against Xu Can — all three wins coming via jaw-dropping stoppages, and in the cases of Xu and Conlan, in the 12th round.

Wood’s power is something he has been able to harness in the latter stages of his 14-year career as a pro. He is adamant a new team has helped him unlock this secret weapon over the last four years.

“I took a bit on a punt on joining Ben [Davison] as he was still quite young, but it’s the best decision I have made in my career,” Wood says. “Ben, Lee Wylie and myself work so well as a unit. When I first got on the pads with Ben, he was surprised, saying, ‘Wow, he can crack, he can really punch,’ and Lee was confused as to why I had been fighting a certain way throughout my whole career — switching, not sitting down on my punches, moving around a lot.

“But they were able to work on my foundation, where to throw punches from, and now it’s turned into my main asset. You saw it straight away in the Reece Mould fight. It was a massive turning point in my career, understanding the principles in how to utilize my power.”

It’s something that undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue found out the painful way in a sparring session in 2018.

Friday February 14, 2025. (Photo by Zac Goodwin/PA Images via Getty Images)

Wood was in Japan working with the Inoue family and enjoyed some success against the “Monster,” much to the delight of Inoue’s father, Shingo. Wood sparred Naoya and brother Takuma on consecutive days in Japan, but was under the illusion he was just in with the younger brother.

“They had the same gear on, same head guard and look pretty similar,” Wood said. “I had had some success against Takuma on the first day and, on the second day, we started the spar and I thought, ‘F*** me, he’s a lot sharper today!’

“I caught him with a lovely one-two and rocked him on the back of his heels, and his father was going crazy in the corner, cheering and clapping! I was very confused. It was a great spar, but I was shocked how much he had improved overnight. It wasn’t until later that day I realized I was actually in with Naoya that day … which made a lot more sense.”

“Leigh Wood has tremendous punching power,” Naoya Inoue subsequently told Ring Magazine. “He was big and probably because of that, I really felt his power and strength.”

Wood may have to repeat some of his prior career-best performances if he is to upset Cacace. The Irish southpaw is 36 years old, like Wood, and enjoying an Indian Summer to a career spent on the domestic stage.

Wins over Joe Cordina and Josh Warrington have rocketed Cacace up the super featherweight rankings, and a jump up in weight for Wood was deemed an opportunistic gamble in order to secure a fight of this magnitude.

“People are asking me what it’s like to have these extra four pounds to play with, but it’s not like that,” Wood says. “It just means I have to come down in weight less. But I am so dedicated outside of camp that this won’t be a problem. Sure, I haven’t fought in close to two years now, but that’s just made me hungrier if anything. I haven’t taken my eye off the ball.

“This is the last chapter of my career now, so I am 100% focused in putting everything into these last few fights. Whether or not I’ll retire this year, we’ll have to wait and see, but I want to make sure I get out of the sport healthy.

“You see too many fighters go on too long and then suffer from it later in life," he continues. "I don’t want to put myself in that position. I have been lucky enough to achieve everything that I have wanted to in the sport, expect one big thing: fighting at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground.

“The opportunities just haven’t come up for this yet, unfortunately. You need a bit of luck as well — the right opponent and the right time of year. I am still staying positive that this can happen, as it’ll be the perfect way to close my career.”

Saturday October 7, 2023. (Photo by Nick Potts/PA Images via Getty Images)

It’s something not even his heroes growing up — Nicky Booth and Carl Froch — managed to achieve in their storied careers, but a win over Cacace this weekend could well be the starting point for a fitting career finale in a place Wood calls a second home.

Since moving from the famous Wincobank Gym in Sheffield to work alongside Davison and Wylie, Wood has felt comfort in a tailored game plan for each individual contest. Spreadsheets and multi-page reports aid the preparation for each opponent, and Wood’s eyes light up as he talks through the angles from which he found success in his most recent wins. It’s become a well-drilled obsession.

Of course, he’s unwilling to divulge how he'll beat Cacace, but he’s confident going into DAZN’s headliner as the underdog.

“I never feel like an underdog in any fight,” Wood says. “I always expect to win — anything less and I have come up short. It doesn’t matter what pundits, bookmakers, other fighters think of my chances, I am only every thinking about winning."

It’s often seen as dangerous for a fighter to flirt with retirement, but Wood’s head is safely screwed on. He’s grounded and open to discussing boxing’s elephant in the room. A career prioritizing his health by limiting head spars has borne fruit in his latter years, and after 31 fights yielding 170 rounds, he’s still awaiting the final piece of a career puzzle.

“A perfect summer?” he concludes. “Well, a win over Cacace and a top-five finish for Forest.” It’s a predictable answer. Despite question marks over what the next year holds for Wood, one thing can be certain: He’ll be back inside the four stands of the historic City Ground soon.

Whether that’s happily retired with a pie and pint in hand, or touching gloves for a piece of Nottingham history — only time will tell.

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