Leigh Wood confirms boxing retirement plans with potential motorcross switch on the horizon

Two-time featherweight champion of the world Leigh Wood has announced his plans to retire from professional boxing later this year with the Nottingham fighter revealing he has just 'one or two' fights left in him.

The 36-year-old is gearing up for his long-awaited return to in-ring action on Saturday 10th May, as he moves up to the 130lbs division to challenge Anthony Cacace for his IBO super-featherweight title in his home city.

Wood has enjoyed a stellar professional career, smashing through his perceived glass ceiling to stun Chinese star Xu Can to become the WBA featherweight world champion in July 2021, before capturing the prestigious belt for a second time against Mauricio Lara, avenging the defeat the Mexican inflicted upon him just three months earlier.

His career has stalled somewhat over the past 18 months however, with injuries derailing his planned rematch with Yorkshire rival Warrington, as well as delaying his upcoming bout with Northern Irishman, Cacace.

That unexpected period of inactivity has afforded Wood the opportunity to ponder a career away from boxing though, and he has revealed to Boxing News that he has already drawn up his '2025 exit plan'.

"This is definitely my last year of fighting," he revealed. "I’m 37 in August and I don’t want to fight much longer; since I won the British title in 2021 I have taken it fight by fight and I have kept performing.

"I can see me having one or two more, but that will be it. I have missed out on a lot over the years, but I’m not moaning about that because this is what I chose to do, and if I had the chance I would do it all over again.

"But I have missed Christmases and birthdays and stag dos and there have been weddings that I have just popped into for an hour because I had a fight coming up.

"There are things I want to do after boxing - I have made an exit plan."

Those plans include a potential venture into another beloved sport of his, motorcross, as well as vowing to give as much back grassroots boxing as he possibly can, having come through arduous and turbulent times himself en-route to fulfilling his lifelong world championship dream.

"I want to be there for my family, my community and fighters coming through - I want to give something back," the Queensberry fighter added.

"I want to sponsor fighters coming through too, because I remember what it was like starting out when I had to rely on ticket sales and people helping out.

“I've also been obsessed with bikes, especially when I was younger, but it costs a lot of money and I never raced competitively. I have a motorcross bike ready to go now, ready for the moment I hang up my gloves.

"My friend rides at a good level and I will follow him and see how quickly I pick it up. It’s like boxing, there are different levels to it, so I will see how fast I can pick it up.

"It's fair to say that flying through the air on a bike sounds like my sort of thing though!"

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Mark Mothershaw

• Queensberry
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