LEIGH WOOD insists he does not care who he faces next as long as it is at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground after Eddie Hearn described the Josh Warrington rematch as the biggest fight out there for him.
Wood completed a sensational smash-and-grab victory over Warrington at the Sheffield Arena on Saturday night when he stopped the Leeds Warrior in the seventh round while trailing on all three cards.
However the conclusion came in controversial circumstances as Warrington believed referee Michael Alexander waved it off too early, without giving him the adequate time to prove his recovery.
Now the attention has turned to what might be next for Wood, who has been promised a 2024 fight at the home of his beloved Nottingham Forest.
The 35-year-old says he will definitely be moving up to super-featherweight, which has opened the door to an all-British clash with Joe Cordina. Names like Emanuel Navarrete have also been mentioned for the outdoor clash but Wood is adamant he does not mind who is in the opposite corner.
“I think I’ve got a number of options,” Wood said. “Eddie said it was a great fight but am I ever in a dull fight, ever? I’m not.
“On that basis we’ve got the pick of the litter. I could give Josh another shot, I’m open to that but it wouldn’t be at featherweight, I can’t make it safely anymore. There are other people at the weight above too. I’ve got a lot of options so we will see what happens.
“The question of who isn’t really the problem – it’s where and when. We want to do the City Ground.
“That’s my best win, Josh is a three-time world champion with massive scalps on his record. I’m the only Brit to beat him. He’s a great fighter and definitely my best scalp. If we do it again we do it again, if not I’d like a new challenge.”
Hearn, who sat to Wood’s right as he spoke, admitted that the rematch with Warrington might be the only one big enough to fill the stadium, especially given the controversy surrounding the stoppage.
Hearn said: “We said to Leigh Wood that the City Ground would be next if he was to be victorious. I feel like it should have happened sooner. It’s a big place and I think there are big fights out there. I’m sure Josh feels like he should get another shot but it wouldn’t be at 126lbs.
“When you’ve got two sets of fans – from Leeds and Nottingham – and they saw a thrilling fight then that’s an option. There is also Joe Cordina but would he want to go to someone’s backyard when he’s the champion? If the deal was right quite possibly.
“But the focus now is to make sure the next fight, whoever it is against, is at the City Ground. When you’ve got two huge sets of fans it’s possible. As we’ve seen with Josh, when you’ve got stadium fights you don’t just make Josh against someone, you make it against Lee Selby for the world title or Mauricio Lara in a big rematch.
“It will take a big fight for Leigh Wood at the City Ground so we will see what the demand is and what everybody thinks. I want to watch the fight back. I think if Josh has turned round then they would have 100 per cent let the fight carry on. If the ref did call it off at eight, I think it was too early because he should have given him the opportunity to turn around.
“But the ref said to me he wouldn’t turn round so if you wouldn’t turn round then I can’t let it continue. But we know the numbers on DAZN were fantastic and the crowd were fantastic – so why not.
“If you look at frontrunners for the size of fights at the City Ground I think the rematch is probably the biggest one.”
Warrington, meanwhile, felt ‘hard done by’ after the stoppage and confirmed he is happy to move up to super-featherweight to secure the rematch.
He said: “This was probably my last fight at feather, I can still make it comfortably but I’ve been here a long time. My better performances in sparring and stuff have come when I’ve been a bit heavier so I would be looking to step up even if I was victorious against Leigh.
“I feel a bit hard done by tonight – it was the end of the round, I get to my feet, there’s a smile on my face, I turned round at eight and the next minute it’s waved off.
“I was cruising the fight, ahead on the scorecards but switched off for a split second. It’s boxing. I turned round at eight – I thought I would be at least given the opportunity to sit down. I know the referee is there for my own safety but I’m deep into my career. I’ve never really been hurt and this is my seventh world title fight. I should have been given the opportunity to carry on. Maybe I got up too quickly but my senses were with me.”