It wasn’t to be for Nottingham Boxer Leigh Wood as he was beaten in a sensational Golden Contract semi-final at York Hall in a thrilling contest with the slenderest of margins favouring his opponent Jazza Dickens.

Wood started slowly with Dickens coming out on top of the earlier rounds as he had Wood on the floor in the first round before the Referee adjudged the European WBO Champion to have slipped, the opening few rounds perhaps going to the European IBF belt holder as Woods failed to penetrate his opponent.

That changed in round five though when Wood rocked Dickens and as a cracking sixth round swayed both ways Wood himself was left clinging on in the seventh. In the eighth round the best of Leigh Wood caused Dickens to bounce from the ropes swaying away and covered in blood and as he continued the charge in the ninth it went back the way of Dickens in the tenth which perhaps swayed this classic encounter.

For Dickens he’ll now fight Ryan Walsh in the final after he beat Tyrone McCullagh by a unanimous decision in the final whilst Wood gracious in defeat said after the bout “I feel like I got beat by the better fighter tonight, he had the experience he knew when to win rounds and when to rest on rounds whilst I was learning on the job”

In an interview for BBC sport he said “my movement stopped in rounds, the ring is a bit smaller than a World Championship ring which suits those fighters who want to fight in a phone box but I’ve just got to learn from it”.

Wood said he was “prepared for it, 100% fit enough and confident but just got beat by the better kid on the night”.

*Main image @SkySports Woods loses to Dickens in a cracking bout at York Hall.