“As far as I’m concerned, I’ve got three or four years now where I’m going to be in my prime, so now is the time where I want to make a run for that belt, and with every fight, I want to work my way up the ladder and hopefully get a shot at gold eventually.
“I’m 30 next year,” he said, mentioning the milestone birthday in the manner most approaching the end of their twenties would, and that makes those a decade or more beyond that marker smile. “I felt like yesterday I was 21, and I don’t know when I’ll be coming out of my prime, but I know for sure that I’m going into it now, so now’s the time.
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“I love this sport, I love competing, I love fighting, so there is no reason why I wouldn’t want to be fighting, other than weight cuts, which I don’t really have to focus on too much now. So I want to stay injury-free, healthy, look after my body, and go in there and do what I love to do.”
After more than a year of frustration and heartache, periods of doubt and probably a couple legitimate moments where he thought of trading it all in for the steadiness of being a postman, Wood is back, primed to chase down that ineffable feeling that comes with securing a victory inside the Octagon, and eager to keep pushing forward in his new weight category.
“I’ve got that buzz again,” he said. “I’m addicted to that feeling (of winning) and come Saturday night, I look to be doing it again.”
And then, he’ll settle on the sofa with Ivar, cuppa tea in hand, and figure out the next step on his road to the top of the featherweight division.
