Michael Conlan allayed considerations about his health and fitness following an uncomfortable tumble out of the ring in his extraordinary 12th-round stoppage defeat to Leigh Wooden in their planet title contest.
Conlan was up on all the judges’ scorecards heading into the remaining 3 minutes but a bruising appropriate hand led to him sagging towards the ropes right before likely by means of them soon after his opponent adopted up with a furious flurry.
Referee Steve Grey was not able to intercept Conlan in time to avert a tumble to the difficult ground and Wood’s emotional celebrations at retaining his WBA featherweight title turned muted as his rival was attended to by medics.
It was a worrying conclude to a fight-of-the-year contender, with Conlan led out of Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena on a stretcher and taken to hospital ahead of he issued a reassuring update on his condition in the early hours of Sunday morning.
He stated on his Instagram story: “I’m all very good, I’m just obtaining checked up in the medical center. The CT scan is all distinct.
“Congrats to Leigh Wooden, congrats to his team, that was the ideal shot of the night he got me with at the finish. But it is what it is, I’ll be again.”
He additional on Twitter: “Certainly want a rematch.”
Wood celebrates victory
A lot of would welcome a return bout after an absorbing contest in which Wooden, making the to start with defence of the title he received by stopping Can Xu – also in the 12th spherical – in July very last year, rallied from getting knocked down himself.
In Conlan, Wooden was experiencing a former novice standout who experienced won gold at the Earth and European Championships and Olympic bronze at London 2012 and who had compiled a skilled resume of 16 wins from as quite a few fights.
Conlan appeared odds-on to maintain his ideal history in the paid out ranks as, owning adopted a southpaw stance early into the combat, a looping still left hand place Wooden flat on his back in the last couple seconds of the opening spherical.
Wood rose on unsteady legs and was arguably saved by the bell as a headline battle in front of his hometown admirers threatened to convert sour.
Conlan, backed by a sizeable and vocal travelling assist in a boisterous ambiance, appeared much far too slick early on for Wood, who was buckled in both of those the second and 3rd rounds.
Conlan downed Wood with a left hand in the ultimate seconds of the to start with round
Wood slowly grew into the fight and was capable to repeatedly power his foe onto the back foot even if he was susceptible to Conlan’s left hooks, which the challenger used at will to stop the regional lad in his tracks.
There have been some relentless exchanges in the seventh and particularly the eighth round, with both of those fighters taking pleasure in some achievements although Wooden confirmed indicators of turning the tide as he rocked back Conlan’s head with a strong right.
Conlan held the struggle at a distance in the ninth and while Wood responded effectively in the 10th, it was thought he even now wanted a major finish. He boosted his hopes in the 11th with a left that momentarily floored Conlan, whose insistence he experienced slipped rather than staying knocked about was ignored by Grey as he administered the 8-count.
If there was any controversy more than the problem, it was rendered a moot point as Wooden closed the present in amazing trend, one minute and 25 seconds into the final spherical. He was trailing by 1 place on two of the judges’ playing cards and a few on the other but took the scoring out of the equation with a medical complete.
Having years in the past viewed fellow Nottingham fighter Carl Froch produce some memorable times at the venue, Wood (now 26-2, 16KO) can now reflect on his very own momentous accomplishment – even if he felt unable to rejoice in the immediate aftermath.
“Michael’s so tricky and I hope he is alright,” an psychological Wood stated afterwards.