By: Sean Cross
There were some amazing balls in 2022 to be sure. Then one of the best things about professional boxing is completing any highlight reel every year. No matter how bad things get in boxing – and, let’s be honest, things aren’t great right now – at least there are some amazing balls to look at. And besides, this year’s nominees were tough to pick a winner. Caleb Plant’s cut of Anthony Dirrell will stick in collective memory, as will Deontay Wilder’s jackhammer finish of Robert Helenius, as well as Tyson Fury’s sudden cleanup of Dillian Whyte.
Still, impressive as it was, none of those balls had the impact of Leigh Wood’s defeat of Michael Conlan in Great Britain last summer. Not only did Wood knock Conlan out, he knocked the man over the ropes in terrifying fashion. “If we knew it was good,” my brother texted me about Conlan after the fight, “(and) that was an amazing f—–g fight.” Indeed it was. Conlan dropped Wood first, then continued to perform brilliantly. But wood should not be prohibited. After dropping Conlan in the eleventh, he finished off his opponent in terrifying fashion in the twelfth.
“In the end,” I wrote at the time, “Conlan actually ended up getting out of the ring. Everyone, including Leigh, was devastated by the brutal end of the battle. Conlan left the arena on a stretcher, and it would be some time before news arrived that the former Olympian was conscious and responsive. Fortunately for all concerned, particularly Conlan and his family, the Irish fighter appears to be none the worse for wear. After all, he managed to win two in a row.
Still, there is a duality of football that comes to mind. As I wrote at the time, horrible things can happen. But at the same time they are incredibly impressive, showing the complete dominance of one athlete over another. And, ultimately, what makes boxing—and other sports—unique is the pursuit of athletic dominance. If the sweet science was just sending someone crashing through a rope onto a hard floor, we’d be rightfully scared. In times like these, it’s not a serious injury that we admire, but a display of athletic prowess.
And Leigh’s performance was at its peak when he stopped Colan that night in England.
