Leigh Wood vs. Josh Warrington: Start time, full undercard & ring walks for all-British world title bout

Josh Warrington is set to return to the ring for the first time since losing his IBF featheweight title against Luis Alberto Lopez last December.

The Leeds Warrior is aiming to become a three-time world champion as he faces Nottingham’s Leigh Wood in an all-British clash for the WBA featherweight title at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield.

Wood has already fought twice this year, as he lost to Mexican Mauricio Lara after being knocked out in Nottingham in February before winning back his title with a unanimous decision victory over Lara in May.

The title holder has won 27 of his 30 professional bouts, losing three, while Warrington has won 31 of his 34 outings in the paid ranks, losing twice and drawing once.

When is Leigh Wood vs. Josh Warrington?

Warrington faces Wood on Saturday, October 7 in Sheffield with the event starting from 7pm. The ringwalks for the main event are due from 10pm onwards, although that could be delayed based on the length of the undercard fights.

Full undercard

• Terri Harper vs. Cecilia Braekhus; For the WBA and WBO women’s light middleweight titles
• Hopey Price vs. Connor Coghill; Featherweight
• Kieron Conway vs. Linus Udofia; Middleweight
• Junaid Bostan vs. Corey McCulloch; Super-welterweight
• Cameron Vuong vs. Engel Gomez; Super-featherweight
• Koby McNamara vs. Francisco Rodriguez; Bantamweight

Is Wood v Warrington on TV?

DAZN has exclusive coverage of the fight in the UK, with a subscription costing a mimimum of £9.99 per month. For more pricing plans, visit the DAZN website.

DAZN is available on web browser but can also be watched through an app on smart TVs, mobiles, tablets and games consoles. The app is available on the following mobiles and tablets: iPhone, iPad, Android phones, tablets, Amazon Fire tablet. The smart TV and streaming devices which support DAZN are: Amazon Fire TV Stick, Android TV, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Hisense, LG Smart TV, Smartcast, Panasonic, Samsung & Sony Smart TV, Philips, Roku, Vestel and Vizio. The game consolses which support the app are PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X.

What has Warrington said?

“I’m not offended that I am not the favourite, if anything it’s motivation. Leigh is the champion, and I’ve been given this opportunity so I am very grateful for that. What does annoy me is being written off, I’m finished, that’s given me the bit between my teeth. Last year I dominated Kiko Martinez inside seven rounds and I dominated the second half of the Lopez fight, and people are talking about how well he’s done since our fight.

“I’m hungry, I haven’t felt like this for a long time and throughout this camp and the whole year, my head has been in a very good place, focused, and I think that the only reason I’ve lost before is mindset. Physically I’m always good, I live in the gym and I am obsessed with training, so the mindset has let me down in the past.

“Time goes on, I’ve been in this sport a long time and there’s a few more grey hairs and the hairline starts a bit further back now, but I feel mature as far as my boxing brain. I would think about the big fights and that 12 rounds is a long time, but it’s not, 36 minutes is not a long time. I know I can adapt and my boxing brain has matured, working on setting up shots, my power and strength have developed. At times, I’ve been economical with punches instead of throwing 85 punch combinations, setting up the shots a little more. You have stages of your career and I am at a good one in this moment in time, but it’s easy to say that, I need to show it on Saturday night.

“My knockouts have come at championship level, the stoppages have come when it’s mattered the most. I know I can dig. It was 15 fights before I got my first stoppage, I didn’t get any coming up against journeymen and people were maybe right to think that I wasn’t a puncher but that was a bit down to my style, not sitting down on the punches. But I have got the KOs and stoppages when it has mattered. I am not a one-punch KO guy, an Edwin Valero type, but I know I have enough to hurt you and I don’t worry about what anyone else thinks, I know I have enough to hurt Leigh and I am very confident that he doesn’t hear the final bell.

“I always visualise different moments and scenarios, I just have a really strong feeling that this one doesn’t see the final bell. It’s alright having power, but being able to take a shot is another thing, so it’s something that’s stuck with me through this camp that this is going to end early and I will be once, twice, three times a champion.”

What has Wood said?

“I don’t think that my power will be the key to victory, but I have got it if I need it. Three fights inside eight months, I’m coming towards the end of my career and I said I wanted to be busy while I’ve got the chance to be busy, because there’s a time I can see creeping up on me where I won’t have the choice. I love boxing, I love this fight with a former champion in the other corner, and I am ready. Power won’t be the deciding factor, there’s a lot of other things that go around it.

“ The culture of trainers in this country that say ‘whoever wants it more will win, whoever is the strongest and hits the hardest will win, whoever is the fittest will win’. It’s not, my team are changing the game and there’s a lot more to boxing than people see. My perception has changed since being with Ben and you will see that on Saturday night.

“The Lara rematch was the best I’ve felt. After the loss, I said I could have gone back in with him ten minutes later, I knew the mistakes I made and the adjustments needed, it was a frustrating night in Nottingham packed with my own fans, but the fast turnaround suited me, I’ve had a little break and holiday to switch off but then back in the gym, and here we are, it’s come around just like that.

“Josh has had some really good wins, possibly better than mine. He’s here because of those credentials, not any other reason. It’s going to be an electric atmosphere and I’m expecting it to be the best I’ve ever witnessed, especially on my ring walk, we’ve sold more tickets than we’ve ever done so it’s going to be a great night and one that will go down in history. I want to remembered as one of the best Featherweights from this country and one of the best fighters from my own city.

“A KO is a possibility, I am not going to go out there banking on knocking him out, but I am going to be dominant. I know Josh is very tough, I’ve been ringside for a number of his fights, especially the Kiko fight, that sticks out for me.

“He got hurt and he was close to being stopped himself when he got his stoppage, so I know he can bite down and give everything he needs to, but at what cost because there will be times in this fight when he needs to work extremely hard just to win a moment, and I will make him pay for those moments.”