'I'm all good' - Michael Conlan taken to hospital after brutal end to epic contest

Conlan was knocked out on the final round of his WBA featherweight title fight against Leigh Wood in Nottingham.

WBA World Featherweight Title Leigh Wood and Michael Conlan, Nottingham, United Kingdom 12/3/2022

Michael Conlan says he is "all good" despite being taken to hospital last night after he was knocked out and fell through the ropes in the final round of his WBA featherweight title fight against Leigh Wood in Nottingham.

A tiring Conlan seemed to be knocked out by a shot on the ropes before a follow up shot seemed to knock the Belfast fighter through the ropes, falling backwards and head first down to the floor.

The fight was instantly waved off by referee Steve Gray as paramedics rushed to help Conlan and Wood tried to quieten the celebrating home crowd. Conlan left the arena on a stretcher but was said to be awake and responsive backstage before he was taken to hospital.

Conlan later said on his Instagram story: "I'm all good, I'm just getting checked up in the hospital. The CT scan is all clear.

"Congrats to Leigh Wood, congrats to his team, that was the best shot of the night he got me with at the end. But it is what it is, I'll be back."

He added on Twitter: "Definitely want a rematch lol."

It had been a brutal end to a remarkable contest that Conlan seemed destined to win from the moment he dropped the champion with a big left hand at the end of the first round.

Wood had been remarkably brave, but Conlan looked to quick and always seemed to have an answer. But after Wood scored a knockdown at the end of the eleventh round, when Conlan appeared to slip, Conlan tired dramatically as Wood completed a remarkable turnaround in the last round and snatch away what COnlan believed was his destiny.

Few Irish boxers have been groomed for the top like Conlan has. It was back in 2012 that he won an Olympic bronze medal in London and when he followed that up by winning a world amateur title, things seemed set for glory in Rio in 2016, only for him to be on the wrong end of one of the most notorious decisions in Olympic history.

The upside of the worst day of this life was that it hugely raised his profile, as US promotional powerhouse Top Rank came calling. He made his debut on St Patrick’s Day weekend in 2017 at Madison Square Garden and people were already talking about world titles.

In Wood, he faced a champion who he must have hoped was below top level. It took Wood more than ten years as a professional to win a British title and he became a world champion just five months later when he upset Can Xu to claim the WBA title last summer.

It was Wood who started on the front foot as he tried to impose himself as Conlan looked to find his range and he landed a good right midway through the opening round.

With 20 seconds left in the round, Conlan got through with a sweeping left and then, just as the ten-second warning sounded, Conlan launched a huge left hand that dropped Wood flat on his back.

The minute’s rest did not seem enough and, after landed a good right, another huge left badly rocked Wood again. He looked on the verge of defeat but somehow stayed on his feet, even withstanding another big left.

In the furore, Conlan picked up a nasty cut, probably from a head clash, and while Conlan struggled to nail Wood again, the champion found a second wind at the end of the round.

There was no rushing from Conlan, though, as he began the third round working behind his left jab. Wood tried to target the body, but Conlan got through with another razor-sharp left, although Wood was going forward on the bell.

The fourth was better for Wood, as he put some pressure on Conlan, but when Conlan got room, he used his speed to land well with the right jab and right hook. In the fifth, after Wood has some success, Conlan fired back, landing a big hook to the body that had Wood holding on.

The relentless body attack continued in the sixth, although for everything Conlan threw, Wood tried to match him and when, in the seventh, Wood came flying forward, Conlan was happy to step back and counter with heavy shots when the openings occurred. They stood and traded at the end of round seven, but while Wood had success, Conlan finished the round by landing the left again.

Somehow, Wood was still going forward and he had some success early in the eighth as he pinned Conlan on the ropes, but after Conlan replied with another big left, Wood found the energy to force Conlan back again, before the Irishman finished by shaking Wood again with the left.

In the tenth, Conlan looked like he had broken Wood, landing a series of body punches than made the Englishman’s hand drop, but somehow he bit down on his gumshield and launched a non-stop two-fisted barrage that had Conlan looking for refuge on the ropes.

For the first time, Conlan looked tired, but after Wood started the eleventh well, Conlan fired back and rocked Wood with a series of lefts and then, as Wood came forward again he landed a left hook that sent Conlan to the floor, although Booth protested that it was a slip.

Conlan, though, had little left and after one more savage onslaught in the last, Wood produced the dramatic ending, although he instantly quietened the crowd as thoughts turned to Conlan’s well-being.

On the undercard, Gary Cully, from Naas recorded the best win of his career to date as he knocked out Miguel Vazquez, the former IBF lightweight champion from Mexico, in the fifth round.

Cully, 26, is 6ft 2in, freakishly tall for a lightweight, and he used his height well, keeping Vazquez at arm’s length. The Mexican was briefly dropped in the third and then put over for the full count from a well-timed southpaw left in the fifth.

There was also a big win for Belfast middleweight Caoimhin Agyarko, who extended his unbeaten record to 11 fights with a hard-earned ten-round unanimous decision over Mexico’s Juan Carlos Rubio.

Heavyweight Thomas Carty, from Dublin, stretched his unbeaten record to three fights as he stopped Poland’s Michal Boloz in the fifth round.