Via Jim Calfa: Leigh Wood agreed with coach Ben Davison’s decision to give up in the seventh inning to save him last Saturday night after he was brutally beaten by Mexican knockout player Mauricio Lara with a a large left-hand bomb at Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, England.
Wood (26-3, 16 KOs), who lost his WBA featherweight title, said he understands that Davison cares about him and that sometimes boxers have to be saved from themselves. It was clear that Wood was ready to continue fighting and ready to go out on his shield.
If you see what Lara did to Emilio Sánchez in March of last year when he met him in a similar physical condition, you would probably agree with Davison’s decision to rush in to save the critically injured Wood shortly after the fall.
Sanchez was folded up like a lawn chair after Lara nailed him with a large left hook after he injured him in the third inning of their fight on March 5, 2022, at San Diego, California.
Eddie Hearn & Davison both made a big deal out of how Sanchez had injured Lara before with a blow to the body, but what they didn’t understand was that even when he was injured, he was still a monstrous puncher.
Lara is like a surgeon when a boxer is injured, and his powers are not of this world. You can only imagine what he would do to Wood if he hooked up to even one of his hits while he was in that state.
“Leigh Wood was in trouble for the first few rounds and then boxed in an absolutely perfect fight,” said promoter Eddie Hearn. iFL TVreflect on Leigh Wood’s loss to Mauricio Lara that followed.
Also, I stand by my coach’s decision. I know he cares about me.
Boxers sometimes have to save themselves, I have many big nights ahead.
It was painful at that time but with the children today with a smile on my face I know the illness will come back better than before ❤️– Leigh Wood (@itsLeighWood) February 19, 2023
“I think he is looking to stop late Mauricio Lara or stop him on points. Honestly, I don’t think Leigh is qualified to go on and I feel that it’s easy to say that with nine or ten seconds left, he could have made it through the round.
“Mauricio Lara is ready to lunge at you, and I promise in those eight or nine seconds he will land right into Leigh Wood, and if he does, he probably won’t come out of that ring tonight now, and in addition, His career may be over.
“Can he keep it? Ability. Could he have recovered in the corner? Maybe, but for a finisher like Mauricio Lara, probably not. I want to have him in the dressing room, smiling, feeling like, ‘I can beat Mauricio Lara in the rematch. I can beat Mauricio Lara,’ rather than in the hospital.
“I also understand because my initial reaction was, ‘Eight seconds, oh no.’ It didn’t really matter because he was above him. You realize, ‘1, 2, 3, 4;’ Do you know how long that is? If he landed cleanly, he [Wood] should have been stretched out of the ring.
