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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Martin Domin

Leigh Wood sends Michael Conlan out of the ring in stunning comeback KO

Leigh Wood pulled off a stunning comeback to KO Michael Conlan and retain his world title in dramatic fashion.

Wood was dropped in the first round in front of his home fans in Nottingham and Conlan proceeded to produce a classy display until the latter stages.

The champion gave himself a fighting chance when he dropped Conlan in the penultimate round and he finished the job in the 12th, sending the Belfast native out of the ring.

Conlan was taken straight to hospital where was reported to be conscious and in a stable condition.

Wood was defending the belt he won from the long-reigning Xu Can in an upset win in promoter Eddie Hearn's back garden last summer.

He welcomed Conlan to his hometown of Nottingham but the famous arena which previously played host to Carl Froch was split 50/50 come the first bell.

Michael Conlan dropped Leigh Wood in the first round (Action Images via Reuters)

Wood was the bigger man in the ring and he looked to take control of the early stages while Conlan made an early switch from orthodox to southpaw.

And the Irishman stunned the home crowd on the bell for the end of the first round when he dropped Wood with a stunning overhand left.

The champion beat the count and made it to his corner but he was still on shaky legs in the second session as another left hand left him wobbled.

Wood managed to see out the round but Conlan's jab found a home early in the third while the champion struggled to get a foot hold on the fight.

Wood landed a right hook early in the fourth session as he pinned Conlan on the ropes and enjoyed his best spell to date.

The Nottingham native had his legs back by the fifth but Conlan's right hand answered back with a crunching shot to the ribs.

Can Michael Conlan come back to win a world title? Let us know in the comments section below

And the challenger continued to produce the more refined work as Wood laboured in his response.

And it was Conlan who also came out on top when the pair traded in the centre of the ring at the end of the seventh stanza.

Conlan landed another huge left in the eighth but this time Wood took it well and to fired back with a salvo as he backed up his challenger.

At times Conlan couldn't miss with his left hand and although Wood finished the ninth round on top, he needed a stoppage in the final six minutes.

And he dropped Conlan with a left hook at the end of the 11th round to breathe dramatic new life into his title defence.

He still needed to complete the job, however, and he did just that in the final three minutes, sending Conlan out of the ropes with his right hand.

The Irishman was treated by paramedics at the side of the ring as Wood called for calm from the frenzied crowd.

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