Ben Davison: Power not enough for Leigh Wood against Michael Conlan
- Joe Hewlett
- 19 January 2022
Ben Davison was speaking ahead of the upcoming showdown between Leigh Wood and Michael Conlan.
Ben Davison believes the ability to handle pressure will play a big factor ahead of Leigh Wood's homecoming fight against Michael Conlan.
The pair collide on March 12 in Nottingham with Wood making the first defence of his WBA featherweight title against Conlan.
Wood delivered a huge upset by stopping Xu Can to claim the world title last summer and has predicted he will KO his Northern Irish opponent.
While Wood has been praised for his punching power, trainer Ben Davison is adamant it won't be enough against someone of Conlan's calibre.
"It's a tremendous fight and as Jamie and Michael said, the travelling Irish fans will cause a great atmosphere, the Nottingham fans have just shown they'll bring a great atmosphere
"This is Michael's first World Title shot and Can Xu was Leigh's first world title shot, obviously it's a dream to fight for a world title but for Leigh Wood, it's always been his dream to box for a world title in Nottingham.
"He's got that now and that's what brings the pressure for Leigh, he's dealt with pressure before and he's very good with dealing with it, I believe that will show on the night.
"It's hard to explain but it still shocks me how hard Leigh hits, it's freakish. I've trained him for over a year now and when I put the pads on it still shocks me.
"That isn't going to win this fight, Michael's a very versatile fighter who can adjust throughout the fight, through the rounds as well. Preparation, tactics, Leigh understanding what he needs to do and when he needs to do it, that's going to be vitally important."
