'Extremely focused' Wood says lay-off 'won't be my undoing'

Leigh Wood says his "frustratingly" long absence from the ring should not be mistaken for his demise as a boxer.

The 36-year-old will end his 19-month hiatus when he takes on Northern Ireland's IBO super-featherweight title holder Anthony Cacace at Nottingham's Motorpoint Arena on Saturday.

Wood's last bout was his thriller against Josh Warrington in October 2023 – a fight he won with a stunning knockout to retain his WBA featherweight title in Sheffield.

The two-time former world champion says a combination of "niggling injuries", his previous insistence that his next fight be at Nottingham Forest's City Ground, a change of promoters - leaving Eddie Hearn's Matchroom for Frank Warren's Queensberry Promotions - and the accompanying "boxing politics" kept him out for so long.

"A lot of people are probably betting on that lay-off to be my undoing, but I'll prove them wrong," Wood told BBC East Midlands Today.

"It's been 19 months out of the ring, but not out of the gym. I've always been working, doing what I can do and living the life.

"That is what will pay dividends for me on fight night. I live the life. It's not just for a week, but it's week in, week out, year in and year out.

"I'm extremely focused, I've done everything I need to do and I feel great."

The near two-year wait for a fight is the longest Wood has gone without a bout since going professional 14 years ago.

But the situation is not entirely unfamiliar to him, with an injury earlier in his career keeping him out for a year soon after he made a failed first attempt at winning a British title.

"I've been here before when I have not won anything and I didn't have any money in the bank," he said.

"Back then, I hadn't had a big pay day. I was struggling to get by. I have the experience of being there, remaining disciplined and it paying off."

Still, Wood does not try to hide his frustration at missing an entire calendar year after breaking through for his first WBA title in 2021 before regaining the crown in 2023.

"I was coming off my biggest win and best year to date - I won [the British Boxing Board of Control's] fighter of the year for 2023 and then in 2024 I didn't fight. So yeah, it was extremely frustrating," he said.

"I'm glad it's behind me now."

Wood's highly-anticipated return to the ring against Belfast's Cacace will be the first time he has fought in his home city since he had his WBA belt taken from him by Mauricio Lara in February 2023.

It was a title he regained from the Mexican three months later in Manchester.

As a lifelong Forest fan, he had it written into his contract at the end of 2023 that his next fight would be at the Reds' City Ground.

It turned into a scheduling nightmare that eventually saw him lose out to pop group Take That, who hosted a concert there in May 2024.

"Take That did take the date, but it's not just that and there is really no-one to blame," Wood said.

"To make that fight happen at the City Ground I needed a lot of luck - the right opponent at the right time. And things just didn't line up."

Even now, Wood says the stadium fight would be the "icing on the cake" in a career he freely admits is heading towards its twilight.

But after months of inactivity he is only focused on what he can do in the ring, rather than what setting that ring is in.

"I want to achieve my maximum, and I don't think I've done that yet," he added.

"I'm not finished. I'll never go into a camp thinking this is my last one because that is just not the mindset I have. It's win this and see what's next."