- Boxing Odds: Leigh Wood +140 underdog, Michael Conlan -180 favorite.
- Betting Pick: Michael Conlan by Decision.
- This will be Conlan’s biggest test to date, how will he step up to the challenge?
Leigh Wood has agreed to defend his WBA featherweight strap against Michael Conlan on Saturday, 12 March. Typically Conlan fights around St. Patrick’s day either in Ireland or the U.S. this time around he’s agreed to travel to Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena. This is a huge match-up for the Irish & UK boxing, let’s find out what the odds are below.
Leigh Wood vs Michael Conlan Odds
| Boxer | Odds |
| Leigh Wood | +140 |
| Michael Conlan | -180 |
The current WBA featherweight champ Leigh Wood opened as a +140 underdog. You can bet $100 to net $140 on “Leigh-thal” to hand Conlan his first professional loss. Meanwhile, “Mick” is used to being the betting favorite. This time he’s not as “hot” as previous fights yet he still has an implied win probability of 64.2% for defeating Wood.
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Betting on Wood vs Conlan
Leigh Wood has the potential to become a real household name in the UK and even overseas if he picks up a win over Conlan. His last win was on six-weeks notice over Xu Can, where Wood was a 3/1 underdog come fight night. Wood TKO’d Xu Can in the last round proving his endurance to go the distance with real knockout power.
Wood has 25 wins under his belt, with 15 of those coming by way of finish. Which is in contrast to Conlan who’s known as more of a clinical boxer with 8 of his 16 wins coming by finish.
When Wood fought Ryan Doyle the Pressure was on and the same can be expected from a fired-up Conlan on March 12.
Michael Conlan struggled against Ionut Baluta in April 2021, just edging an MD win over the Romanian boxer. Don’t expect this version of Conlan to show up, but if he does he will leave Nottingham with an L on his record. However, this could be a case of inactivity and not taking Baluta seriously in the preparation.
When it came to Conlan’s last fight against T.J. Doheny he showed real heart and skill to pick up a decision win and claim the vacant WBA interim featherweight title. Conlan opened as a -625 favorite against Doheny and closed around -550, that’s been the case throughout his professional boxing career. Now the stakes are a lot higher and the current betting line reflects that with some early public money going on Wood since the odds opened.
Conlan is used to having the weight of expectations on his shoulders. After being labeled as the next big thing since 2012 alongside Katie Taylor, he’s delivered every time, and now
This fight will be a real statement maker for Conlan, especially if he can keep up the momentum in 2022 with more big names. The future fight to make is Josh Warrington vs Michael Conlan, but for now, Conlan’s focus must be on the challenge ahead in Leigh Wood.
What’s your prediction for this WBA featherweight clash, Wood or Conlan? Comment below.