Boxer Leigh Wood weighs in on his upcoming fight against Anthony Cacace at Motorpoint Arena

Leigh, you’re back on the big stage - how fired up are you to bring back big fight nights to Nottingham? 

So excited mate, you know as always, I’m up for this: a new challenge, a new weight, a new opponent. With all the usual noise that surrounds these fights, I’ve heard that I’m the underdog again which is exactly how I like it! With the time out of the ring and all the other things I’m hearing, I just can’t wait to silence the doubters.

Anyone who’s seen yourself and Anthony Cacace fight will know that putting the two of you in a ring… Nottingham versus Belfast, it's a guaranteed fight of the year, right? 

Exactly that, given what I bring to the table and what he brings to the table, nothing but excitement! 

This is your first fight at Super Featherweight - how’s your body feeling at 130lbs, after what will be a year and a half out of the ring come fight night? 

Yeah, a lot of people are saying that I’m going up to Super Featherweight, but in reality I’m actually not, I’m just not coming down in weight as much as I did for Featherweight. So yeah, I’ll let you know after the fight how I feel because that’s when I’ll know the difference. But it should be less of a drastic cut.  

You’ve built a reputation for walking into some of the loudest atmospheres in British boxing - what are you expecting on fight night, and how much of a lift does that crowd give you? 

There’s nothing like it, when I walk out to Mull of Kintyre! It really does pick me up. In the Michael Conlan fight, it literally did pick me up off the canvas to go on and get the win. The fans are important, extremely important, so loud as you can on the night people, please!  

You’ve carried the Nottingham flag on your back for years now - how much pride do you take in being seen as the face of the city in boxing? 

Yeah, it’s a lot of pride and it's a big responsibility because with that responsibility comes a lot of pressure. I feel like every time I fight I’m not just winning for myself; I’m carrying that responsibility of the whole city on my back. So not only do I want to get the win for me, but I also want to get the win for them. At the same time, I mentioned the pressure, it's a privilege to have that.  

(At this point I pull out a Phoenix Amateur Boxing t-shirt, Leigh’s first boxing gym) Can you tell me what this shirt and club means to you? 

(Laughs) Phoenix Amateur Boxing Club, that’s where it all started for me as a ten-year-old boy. First walking into the gym, training on Sunday mornings, watching Carl Froch in there, Liam Morris absolutely destroying circuits and working extremely hard. That’s where I first realised that boxing, for me, was enjoyable and I had fun there and that was the most important part of my journey, that I had fun doing something before it became serious, just enjoying it. I’ll be forever grateful for walking into the Phoenix Amateur Boxing Club.  

How important are those local grassroots clubs to the community? 

Extremely important, when I first walked into Phoenix and saw Carl training and all the other young adults training, I aspired to be like them. I wanted to do what they've done, achieve what they've achieved, not just at the gym but going to the arena. And watching Carl fill out the arena, being in the stands screaming for him, looking around thinking about how much I’d love to do this one day. And you know, bit by bit, it was a long journey to get there myself but seeing someone before me do that helped massively and hopefully I can do that for the next person coming through, the next fighter coming through the city.

With fighters like yourself, Ekow Essuman and Ezra Taylor, (of course all with Queensberry) has Nottingham now got three kings to firmly put the city on the boxing map? 

Yeah, for sure! Ezra’s a great talent coming through, he’s on the bill too for 10 May. And Ekow’s in a great fight two weeks later up in Scotland. I’m gonna fly up to watch that fight! But yeah, I feel like the three of us are really holding the baton and inspiring the next generation of fighters coming through, which is extremely important as I said, because when I was younger I had Carl Froch, I had British champions... Nicky Booth, Jason Booth, Jawaid Khaliq and Kirkland Laing – I had all these heroes to look up to and aspire to be like and put my name amongst them. It took me a long time to get there but my job now is to do that again and bring the next crop through and keep this cycle going, because without these figures in the sport and in our city, the younger generation wouldn’t have anyone to look up to.

With Forest flying in the Prem and the return of Leigh Wood boxing nights, does it feel like there’s real sporting momentum in Nottingham right now? 

Yeah, we’re flying and hopefully we’ll get some European dates next year, be that Champions League or Europa League - hopefully Champions League! Forest has been doing exceptionally well; no one expected this, not even our own fans, so long may that continue. Our teams are winning and doing well in Nottingham: we've got cricket doing well, football, Nottingham Panthers in the playoffs. Each success reflects onto the next success and it's great to see that there’s such a positive sporting vibe! 

What does the word 'legacy' mean to you at this stage of your career? 

To me, legacy means achieving my maximum and I don’t feel as though I’ve done that yet. I am a two-time world champion looking to become a two-weight, three-time world champion on 10 May. I just want to achieve everything that I can achieve, and I won't really know what that will be until I fail trying.

Grab your tickets for Leigh Wood vs. Anthony Cacace on Saturday 10 May by heading to the Motorpoint Arena website.

@itsleighwood