Wood vows to 'prove people wrong' against Lara

Leigh Wood (left) has 26 wins and two losses in his professional career

Leigh Wood says he will prove his doubters wrong when he defends his WBA featherweight title against Mauricio Lara in Nottingham next month.

But Wood says there is "nothing new" to him being unfavoured and believes he will defy the odds on 18 February.

"I prefer being an underdog and I love proving people wrong," Wood said.

"People tweet me all the time and say, 'this is a mismatch and I'm going to lose' but if you look at my Twitter I retweet them because it fuels me."

Wood was the underdog when he beat Xu Can to claim the WBA 'regular' belt in 2021 and believes he was again underestimated for his first defence against Michael Conlan last year.

And Wood says his fighting style will create problems that Lara will be unable to solve, but admits any complacency against the Mexican could prove costly.

"Winning fuels me," he said. "Lara has a style that suits me. Conlan was all wrong for me stylistically, but styles make fights and I'm confident in my ability.

"If I approach this fight wrong, it could be brutal. Lara is good and we saw that in the first fight with Josh Warrington, but if I do as I plan, this fight won't reach halfway - I'm going to get Lara out of there."

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Lara, 24, put the boxing world on notice early last year with a devastating victory over Warrington before a rematch in Leeds ended in a no contest due to a clash of heads.

Wood and Lara were originally set to fight in September before the bout was postponed when the Briton suffered a torn bicep while sparring, although he was upgraded to full WBA champion during his injury lay-off.

Lara has since suggested Wood faked an injury and labelled him a "chicken" - something Wood refutes.

"He [Lara] said I faked my injury and that annoyed me. Why would I fake my injury?" Wood said.

"I didn't have to fight him; this is a voluntary defence, but I want to test myself and I'm going to show him what I'm all about."

Wood is still keen to fight recently dethroned world champion Josh Warrington (right)

Wood is a passionate Nottingham Forest fan and has set his sights on fighting at his the Premier League side's City Ground home.

A victory over Lara could see Wood achieve his dream of fighting at the stadium and he has touted former two-time IBF featherweight champion Warrington as the ideal opponent.

'The Leeds Warrior' was beaten by Luis Alberto Lopez by unanimous decision in December but Wood believes interest in a potential clash between the pair remains high.

"Let's just see what happens but Warrington can help me achieve my dream of headlining at the City Ground," Wood said.

"The fight with Warrington is still a massive fight and there's a rivalry between Nottingham and Leeds. He's done a lot in boxing."

Wood has also expressed his interested in a rematch with Conlan and, with the Belfast fighter in talks to face IBF featherweight champion Lopez, a unification fight could also be on the horizon.