Leigh Wood became a British champion seven years after his first attempt as he knocked down Reece Mould three times to claim the featherweight title at Wembley.

Wood, 32, showed the experience he had had since losing to Gavin McDonnell in 2014, as he outboxed Mould and, after being hurt by the Yorkshireman, he outpunched him too. 

Mould loaded up too much and, while he had success, he was never that hard to hit. He also paid for the effort in trying to constantly blast Wood off his stride as he looked exhausted at the end.

“It’s a brilliant feeling, it was a long time coming,” Wood said. “I knew it was gong to be a tough fight, but I feel I am knocking on the door for a world title. That level, there’s where I want to be.

“I don’t think I’ve ever lied when talking about boxing performances and what I am capable of. There is no point lying because you get in there and get found out. I have spent most of my career on the back foot running away and I showed what I can do when I stand there – not to be hit but stand there ready to hit back.”

He said he would like a rematch with McDonnell but also said he would like a rematch with Jazza Dickens, who beat him on points a year ago and is now matched with Kid Galahad for the IBF title vacated by Josh Warrington.

Wood also paid tribute to Nicky Booth, the former British bantamweight champion, who died last month aged 40. “I idolised him as a kid,” said Wood and entered the ring to Booth’s old ring walk music.

After a tight opening two rounds, Wood was starting to take control in the third round, but he was caught by a big left hook that stopped him in his tracks. Wood looked hurt and Mould followed up, catching Wood again as the Nottingham fighter tried to fight his way out of trouble,

But Wood regrouped and came back in the fourth round, landing a neat right over the top of Mould’s guard. He then opened up with three shots to the body and a combination to the head, that wobbled Mould back into the ropes.

Mould managed to hold, but as Wood pushed him off he started getting through with straight punches, driving Mould back around the ring. Two more rights seemed to stiffen Mould’s legs and then a three-punch combination, ending with a right uppercut, dropped heavily him to the floor.

Mould beat the count at seven, but was hurt and had damage to the nose. He gamely stuck out the round, though, covering up on the ropes and moving away from Wood.

He did well to regain a foothold in the fight in the fifth, although it took a lot of effort as he tried to force Wood backwards, and he was really loading up on his punches at the start of the sixth round. He had some success but, in the seventh round, he was looking tired.

The eighth round saw Wood take control and he took Mould out in the ninth round. As Mould shaped up for a left hook, he was caught by a beautifully-timed left hook that dropped Mould on his face. He was up at six but looked shattered. Referee Bob Williams allowed him to continue, but Mould backed straight into the ropes, where Wood opened up.

Mould’s legs just gave way under the onslaught and he collapsed downwards, the bottom rope snapping his head back in ugly fashion as Williams tried to dive to catch him. The time of the stoppage was 1:03 of round nine.

Ron Lewis is a senior writer for BoxingScene. He was Boxing Correspondent for The Times, where he worked from 2001-2019 - covering four Olympic Games and numerous world title fights across the globe. He has written about boxing for a wide variety of publications worldwide since the 1980s.