The 37-year-old was as good as his word. Wood has been one of boxing’s most spectacular action heroes over the past five years, but he has always been at his most effective when he controls the range and tempo of a fight.

That was the approach he chose to employ Saturday night and it worked to perfection. The result wasn’t as exciting as the knockout he scored in their first fight, but it was just as conclusive.

Wood dominated the 12-round junior lightweight fight from start to finish and eased to a wide unanimous decision at Nottingham Arena (119-109, 119-110 and 117-111).

Wood (29-4, 17 KOs) has acknowledged that his career is drawing to a close but decided against confirming his retirement after the fight.

“My body felt good, mentally it felt good, physically it felt good,” he said.

“I was a little bit more nervous going in because I've had a long time out of the ring. I know what you’re hinting at but I'm not too sure yet. I'm not going to make a decision on the spot but what fight to finish on if it was the last one.

“Josh is a great fighter, but because we had the information in the first fight, we knew his entries but, even so, he caught me with some great body shots and Josh's a tough man.”

Hatred can fuel a fire, but throughout boxing history grudge matches and rivalries have failed to live up to the hype with fighters too worried about the consequences of making a mistake and fighting not to lose rather than to win.

That wasn’t the case here. Wood decided to box smartly and pick his shots whilst Warrington tried to impose himself, but he just couldn’t sustain the attacks that once made him such an effective fighter.

First time around, Wood found himself behind from the opening stages. This time, he took control immediately. Boxing as a southpaw he poked away with his right hand and targeted the body with the left.

Warrington brought blood from Wood’s nose early in the second but it didn’t shake the home favorite out of his rhythm. Boxing with his hands around his waist, he probed with that southpaw jab and fired in the left hand. Not every shot was delivered with bad intentions, but a short right hand in the second round and a left uppercut in the third definitely found the mark.

Warrington didn’t panic and kept his shape. He can no longer operate at this old frenetic pace so smartly rationed his famous attacks. A left uppercut hurt him in the fourth but he recovered well between rounds and found a pair or right hands in the fifth as Wood began to bruise around the right eye.

Wood’s relaxed, composed display had quieted Warrington’s rowdy fans. He kept Warrington at bay throughout a dominant sixth and came close to landing a hard, well-timed right hook after a well-timed left uppercut.

Warrington had gone flat. In the past, he refused to be kept at bay and would attack in violent bursts. Saturday, he spent long periods at arms length. He found a dim spark in the ninth when he began to spit out his old, accurate jab, but Wood would step off to the side or out of range before he could capitalize on it.

The fight petered out. Wood had no need to change the tone and Warrington was unable to do so.

Losing to Wood for a second time will sting Warrington (32-5-1, 8 KOs) personally, but the realization that his career — at the highest level at least — is almost certainly over will hurt much, much more.

He refused to confirm that this will be the last fight but did acknowledge that he struggled to get anything going.

“I could see bits and bits of what Lee was doing,” he said. "I just couldn't capitalize on it. I feel like compared to a couple of years ago, probably a bit more apprehensive but my reactions were a lot better. Then, tonight. I was just off the pace. Off the pace.

“I'm not going to make a decision. First and foremost, I've only been down here a week, but I miss my kids immensely. I want to go home and see my little boy and my twin daughters.

“I'm not going to make no rash decisions. That being said,, I can't keep on coming out here and people are spending their hard-earned money and I'm not giving absolutely everything. I try my best. I try my very best and I wanted it bad. I wanted it so bad.”

Wood has been one of the most exciting fighters in British boxing over the past five years, but he acknowledges that his time in the sport is short. During the buildup, it felt like ensuring he could leave on his own terms was just as important as scoring another victory over his bitter rival.

He did just that and can take time to consider his future.