Concern for Michael Conlan after brutal knockout
After one of the fights of the year, Leigh Wood and Eddie Hearn said their first concern was the health of boxer Michael Conlan after a rough KO.
A brutal 12th-round knockout sent Michael Conlan tumbling out of the ring through the ropes and his opponent, the victorious Leigh Wood and promoter Eddie Hearn said their primary concern was the health of defeated fighter, rather than any celebration at the victory.
Amazing comeback from Wood
It capped off an unbelievable fight, where Wood was dropped in the first round before mounting an incredible comeback in the 11th and 12th rounds when clearly behind on the scorecards.
Speaking with DAZN Boxing after stepping out of the ring, defending-champion Wood made it clear that while the victory was sweet, his thoughts were with the man he shared a ring with for more than half an hour.
"I hope Michael's alright," he said.
"I can't really celebrate yet until I know he's alright – my thoughts are with him at the minute."
Promoter Eddie Hearn, while also sympathetic to Conlan's situation, was willing to discuss what this win could mean for Wood going forward.
"We want to go back to the changing room, make sure Michael's alright," he said.
"That's all we really care about at the moment – we'll celebrate when the time is right.
"You've got a huge featherweight world championship fight coming up in two weeks between Josh Warrington and Kiko Martinez – the winner of that fight in a big unification fight, Leo Santa Cruz, [Emanuel] Navarrete.
"I said to Leigh tonight on the ring walk: 'This is it, this is your moment, but it's just the beginning.'
"He left it until the last 90 seconds to change his life again tonight."
Conlan stable after knockout
Hearn later confirmed on Twitter that Conlan was "conscious and stable, sitting up and talking and [awaiting] CT scans."