Leigh Wood vs Josh Warrington 2 Preview & Picks – Wood To Repeat 2023 Knockout Victory

leigh-copson
12 Feb 2026
Leigh Copson 12 Feb 2026
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  • Leigh Wood vs Josh Warrington 2 picks for Saturday, February 21
  • Fight is taking place at Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, England
  • Preview, predictions, stats & form
Leigh Wood and Josh Warrington face off (Getty Images)

Leigh Wood vs Josh Warrington 2 Preview & Picks

Leigh Wood is tipped to beat Josh Warrington via knockout for the second time.

Josh Warrington is the more skilled fighter and that showed for almost the entirety of the first meeting, but Wood has the power to change everything in the blink of an eye.

That was the decisive factor back in October 2023 and that can be the case again in 2026.

  • 8 of Leigh Wood’s previous 9 victories have come via knockout
  • Leigh Wood knocked out Josh Warrington back in October 2023
  • Josh Warrington has been knocked out 2 times in his career
  • Josh Warrington has won just 2 of his previous 7 fights

Head To Head

  • Leigh Wood won by knockout in the 7th round when the two men last fought in October 2023

Leigh Wood Form

Leigh Wood is a former two-time WBA featherweight world champion with a career record of 28-4 (17 KOs).

Wood entered the professional ranks in October 2011, and rebounded from a British super-bantamweight title fight loss in February 2014 with a 12-fight win streak that earned him the Commonwealth and European featherweight crowns.

His run ended with a majority decision loss to Jazza Dickens in February 2020, but he quickly put that behind him as he reeled off three consecutive victories and earned the WBA (Regular) featherweight title.

The now 37-year-old knocked out Reece Mould in the ninth, before producing last-round stoppages of Xu Can and Michael Conlan.

Wood was upgraded to full championship status after the win over Conlan, but in his first defence he suffered a seventh-round knockout loss at the hands of Mauricio Lara.

He avenged that loss and regained the championship a few months later, beating Lara on points, and then ended 2023 by successfully defending the WBA crown with a seventh-round knockout of Josh Warrington.

‘Leigh-Thal’ later vacated the world title and would not fight again for 18 months, but when he did return to action he was presented with an opportunity to become a two-weight world champion.

Wood came up short in May of last year though, as he was knocked out in the ninth round by IBO super-featherweight champion Anthony Cacace.

Josh Warrington Form

Josh Warrington is a former two-time IBF world featherweight champion with a professional record of 32-4 (8 KOs) with 1 draw.

Warrington made his professional debut in October 2009 and won English, British and Commonwealth titles as he compiled 26 straight wins to warn a world title shot in May 2018.

The now 35-year-old made the most of his big opportunity too, as he beat Lee Selby via split decision to win the IBF featherweight crown for the first time.

He went on to successfully defend the belt three teams, following up points successes against Carl Frampton and Kid Galahad with a second-round stoppage of Sofiane Takoucht.

Warrington would later vacate the championship, and following that decision he suffered the first defeat of his career as he was knocked out by Mauricio Lara in the ninth round.

The rematch then ended in a draw when Lara suffered a fight-ended cut due to an accidental clash of heads in the second round, but ‘The Leeds Warriors’ was able to rebound from that in March 2022 as he knocked out Kiko Martinez in round seven to become a two-time champion.

His reign proved to be brief though, as he was beaten via majority decision when he made his first defence against Luis Alberto Lopez.

That was followed by a seventh-round knockout loss to Leigh Wood in October 2023, and his losing skid reached three fights when he was beaten on points by IBO super-featherweight champion Anthony Cacace 11 months later.

Warrington did end his three-fight skid in 2025 however, as he beat Asad Asif Khan on points.

Wood vs Warrington - What They Said

Josh Warrington: “I boxed his ears off for seven rounds, he caught me with a punch from the gods and then goes around telling everyone that was his game plan. I won’t take my eye off the ball this time. I won’t let him off the hook again. This time I will finish the job. This time I won’t give him a lucky shot.”

Leigh Wood: “This fight will be even easier than the first one. I probably won’t need to wait seven rounds this time. Well done, he was ahead on the cards. You can be ahead in a game of football or the 100m, but you can still get done in the last minute or on the line. He’s crying about the stoppage but he was staring up at Row Z – he didn’t have a clue where he was. The referee did him a favor stopping it when he did.”

Verdict

Josh Warrington failed to turn dominance into victory in the first fight, and history could repeat itself here.

Leigh Wood needs just one opening to either swing the fight in his favour or bring it to an end, and we expect him to land a decisive shot that sets up the finish or finishes it instantly.

Best Bet1: Wood by KO/TKO Method Of Victory @160.00 at Stake.us - 4 Units
Best Bet2: Wood KO & Under 10.5 Method Of Victory & Total Rounds @210.00 at Stake.us - 1 Unit
Wood by KO/TKO
Method Of Victory
@160.00 - 4 Units
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Bet at Stake.us
Wood KO & Under 10.5
Method Of Victory & Total Rounds
@210.00 - 1 Unit
55 Stake Cash no deposit & 550,000 Gold Coins & 5% Rakeback
Use promo code NEWBONUS

Sign up with the code NEWBONUS. When you verify your account get 25 Stake Cash for free PLUS 250,000 Gold Coins and 5% Rakeback! No deposit required. Login each day for the next 30 days and get an additional 30 Stake Cash AND 300,000 Gold Coins. 21+ only. T&Cs apply. Excludes WA, NY, NV, ID, KY, MI, VT, NJ, DE, WV, PA, RI & MD.

Bet at Stake.us

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