After verbally speaking during their press tour last month, Michael Conlan questioned Leigh Wood’s mental strength.
Conlan challenged Wood for the WBA featherweight title in the champions’ home city of Nottingham on Saturday night.
Speaking about the first leg of their two-day tour, which started on Wood’s field, Conlan said: “If Leigh looks back and realizes half of the content, he said it really doesn’t make sense. He’ll probably be, ‘Why do I say that?’ He said something like, ‘If you’re still standing at the end of this 12order round, I’ll knock you down’. It has no meaning.
“Mentally, he is not strong in that respect. You don’t have to have time. Fighting’s fighting. It doesn’t talk. But this is part of the game and I’m enjoying it. I love all of these. This is part of who I am. I can talk nonsense naturally. I can be myself, I don’t need to script anything. ”
Wood will defend his first title, which he impressively won against Can Xu last July with a goal in the final round.
