China News Service, Beijing, July 5th. After more than 500 days of waiting, China's only current world boxing champion Xu Can's third world gold belt defending match was finally confirmed.

The reporter learned from Xu Can’s team that, as confirmed by the World Boxing Association (WBA), the new match schedule is set for August 1, Beijing time, in London, England.

And Xu Can’s opponent changed from the original American player Sanchez to the British player Leigh Wood.

　　In 2019, Xu Can played three consecutive world title battles with full energy and quickly grew into a leading figure in Chinese men's boxing.

After defending his title for the second time, Xu Can decided to launch an impact on the highest honor of professional boxing-the unified boxing champion, and reached a match agreement with the former British IBF world boxing champion Warrington.

　　In order to prepare for the united war, Xu Can went to Miami, Florida for a closed training camp on New Year's Eve.

But just as the united war was about to begin, it encountered the global outbreak of the new crown epidemic, and the united war with Warrington was put on hold.

　　Xu Can did not enter the arena throughout 2020, and there was a sharp gap between the two years.

The 17-month window period of the game is also a kind of experience for Xu Can.

The third game of the title was originally scheduled to be held in Los Angeles on June 13 this year, but it had to be postponed due to the schedule of overseas event broadcasters.

Xu Can is preparing for battle.

Photo courtesy of Xu Can's team

　　Compared with the original opponent Sanchez, the contest with Leigh Wood undoubtedly increased the suspense of defending: the former has never had 12 rounds of game experience; and the latter has already been baptized by competitions and masters, and has been in the top 15 in the world comprehensive ranking all the year round. , Threatening the throne of the world champion at all times.

　　The sudden changes disrupted the elaborate preparation plan.

Leigh Wood is good at counterattack wandering, while Sanchez is more inclined to attack actively, the technical characteristics of the two can be described as very different.

As a result, Xu Can's targeted training effect in Miami's early stage was greatly reduced.

　　Leigh Wood is 32 years old, born in Nottingham, England, with a professional record of 24 wins, 2 losses and 14 KOs.

Having worked in professional boxing for more than ten years, Leigh Wood has won outstanding honors-he won the WBO Featherweight European Intercontinental Champion and Commonwealth Featherweight Champion in 2019.

The venue was at the headquarters of Lei Wood’s promotion company’s Matchroom.

Photo courtesy of Xu Can's team

　　Leigh Wood is a traditional right-wing boxer with a calm and calm personality. He is good at looking for opportunities and then strikes back. He is a typical counter-attacker in boxing style.

In the face of fierce offense, Wood can always deal with it calmly, and can always hit precise combination punches when defending firmly, and sometimes he can give unexpected heavy punches.

In terms of skills and tactics, Xu Can's "counter-attack" style of play is relatively restrained, and it is a hard "hard bone".

　　However, the changes in the game did not affect Xu Can's state of preparation.

Recent training videos sent by coach Pedro to China show that Xu Can was very engaged and excited in the final three weeks of sprinting.

　　It is worth mentioning that the venue of this competition is located in Brentwood near London. The venue is right at the headquarters of Leigh Wood’s promotion company arena.

For Leigh Wood who has never played abroad, it is an absolute "absolute home", challenging the golden belt to occupy the right time and place.

　　After receiving the news of the game, Xu Can said: "It doesn't matter how the opponent's location is changed, my goal is to bring the gold belt back to China. Since the British do not want to go out of the house, then I will go to his house in person."

　　If Xu Can succeeds in defending his title in July, he will break the record of defending professional boxing in China with three times of defending.

Previously, the record was held by China's first world boxing champion and M23 team captain Xiong Chaozhong (twice).

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