Leigh Wood and Josh Warrington re-ignited their fierce rivalry with a heated face-off on Thursday ahead of their rematch on Feb. 21 in Nottingham.
Wood (28-4, 17 KOs), a former featherweight world champion and Warrington (32-4-1, 8 KOs), a former two-time world champion in the same division, will finally meet in long-awaited second fight early next year.
Their rivalry has been simmering for two years since their first fight.
Wood beat Warrington with a dramatic Round 7 knockout in October 2023 after being down on the judges’ scorecards. Warrington was well in control of the bout, landing more punches than his rival.
The two argued in their first meeting since the rematch was announced.
“I don’t like him now. Since the first fight he never shown any respect. For me, did I fear Leigh going into the first fight? Probably not,” Warrington said.
“I thought the fight was going as I expected it until Round 7. I’ve got to make sure the same mistake doesn’t happen again. Up until that moment I was having an easy night.”
Wood responded: “He won rounds but at what cost? It cost him the fight. If he wants to do that again, he can do that again.
“I’m not even thinking about after this fight, I’ thinking about winning this fight. If I lost this fight, it takes away the credibility of the first fight. I don’t know if I’m going to fight again after this fight, I haven’t even thought about it. But for me, I need to win this fight.
While their exchange began cordially, it soon became heated with the dislike between the two clear to see. There was also a long face-off with words exchanged after their interview.
“You need to be perfect for 36 minutes, I need to be perfect for one or two seconds,” Wood said. “I’m going to hit you so f—— hard, I can’t wait.”
Promoter Eddie Hearn made it clear how high the stakes are for the rematch.
“This fight should have happened a year ago. Warrington was bashing Leigh up and Leigh turned it around, stopped him,” Hearn said.
“This is the last roll of the dice. You lose this fight, you’re done. They should both acknowledge that. The winner’s going to go on and have a big fight, the loser … They’re not going to want and build themselves back up.
“Careers on the line, bad blood, Nottingham against Leeds, but most of all, a great fight.”