7:33 pm ET
Nick Parkinson
Close
- • Boxing coverage for ESPN.co.uk as well as several national newspapers.
• Has been reporting on British boxing for over 15 years.
• Appears on the BoxNation Boxing Matters show.
Lee Wood scored a stunning comeback victory, stopping Michael Conlan with a brutal 12th round knockout to retain his WBA ‘regular’ WBA featherweight title on Saturday in front of his hometown fans at Nottingham Arena in England.
For the second fight in a row, Wood was victorious in the final round, but the dramatic finale was overshadowed by immediate concern for Conlan, who fell backwards through the ropes and out of the ring.
Conlan was treated by ringside medics and was quickly taken to a nearby hospital, where he was conscious and in stable condition, according to a Matchroom spokesperson who promoted the fight.
For 33-year-old Wood (26-2, 16 KOs), it was another late, dramatic win after upsetting China’s Xu Jang in the final round last year in his first world title fight. Wood was dominated early on, including being knocked down in the first round, but he recovered to knock Conlan down at the end of round 11 and resumed his attack in the 12th, knocking Conlan out through the ropes at 1 minute 25 seconds under a flurry of blows. .
“I hit him with everything, but he’s so tough,” Wood said. “Now I just think about Mike. It was a bad knockout.”
Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn echoed Wood’s concerns about Conlan.
“We should be celebrating one of the best knockouts I’ve ever seen, but right now our thoughts are with Michael,” Hearn said.
30-year-old Conlan (16-1, 8 KOs) from Belfast, Northern Ireland, controlled most of the fight and narrowly missed the title in the first round. Wood put in most of the pressing in the first round, but was then caught by a skillfully disguised left hand from Conlan late in the round, which left him lying on his back for the count.
It was a great shot from Conlan, who was again in trouble with Wood early in the second round as he consistently found Wood with his left hooks. Wood looked stunned for most of the second round, caught with clean left hooks as Conlan asserted his authority in the fight.
Conlan, the 2012 Olympic bronze medalist, cautiously started third before hitting Wood with a right hand in the final minute of the round. But the fight took a turn in the fourth round as Wood fought back with a flurry of punches.
Wood showed a lot of aggression in rounds 5 and 6, but cleaner and sharper punches came from the opponent. In the sixth, Conlan landed a devastating right hook to the chin to Wood, to which the champion shrugged well.
Wood showed courage in the eighth round when he put Conlan under the most intense pressure he had ever experienced in the fight. The wood was full of fire in round 10, giving Conlan a hot time as the Irishman sat on the ropes.
Wood was tagged in the 11th but found the strength and courage under pressure to land a left hook that sent Conlan to the canvas. Conlan complained that it was a miss, but at the end of the 11th round he was still given the count, and this prompted Wood to make another stunning reversal in the final round.
Early on the 12th, Wood launched a furious and relentless attack that left Conlan on his feet before the Irishman collapsed through the ropes, falling backwards from the ring.