Leigh Wood vs Josh Warrington predictions and boxing betting tips: Wood can justify favouritism

Where to watch Leigh Wood vs Josh Warrington

DAZN, coverage starts 7pm, Saturday

Best bets for Leigh Wood vs Josh Warrington

Leigh Wood to win by decision or technical decision
2pts 5-4 bet365, Coral

Leigh Wood vs Josh Warrington Odds

Leigh Wood 8-15
Josh Warrington 7-4
Draw 16-1

Odds correct at time of publishing

Leigh Wood vs Josh Warrington predictions

Leigh Wood makes the first defence of his WBA featherweight title on Saturday as he faces off against former IBF title holder Josh Warrington at the Sheffield Arena.

Wood is three years older than his opponent, but these two fighters appear to be at different stages of their careers. 

This will be Warrington’s first fight since a points defeat to Luis Alberto Lopez in December while Wood has already fought twice in 2023.

The Nottingham-native is going through the best period of his career as a 35-year-old whereas Warrington, 32, is starting to show signs of slowing down and has won only one of his last four bouts.

Wood looked good when beating Mauricio Lara in a rematch in May and a similar performance would probably be enough to beat Warrington, who has a defeat and a draw from his own two meetings with Lara.

Wood is the clear favourite and the best option could be to back the defending champion to win on points. Warrington has lost only twice during his 34-fight career and just one of those defeats has come via stoppage. 

Title-holder Wood does boast an impressive knockout record, with 16 of his 27 career wins and seven of his last eight success coming inside the distance. However, the majority of those were late stoppages and Warrington remains a durable operator with plenty of quality despite his recent dip in form. 

This could be a closer fight than the odds suggest and it may well require the judges to decide the winner – but Wood is the fighter in the ascendancy and he can do enough to hang on to his title.

Click for free bets and betting offers from the Racing Post

Commercial notice: This article contains affiliate links. Offers are handpicked and come from operators our experts have first-hand experience of. Opening an account via one of these links will earn revenue for the Racing Post, which will be used to continue producing our award-winning coverage of horseracing and sports betting.