Garth Wood promises a blast from the past when he steps into the ring with Daniel Geale

GARTH Wood stepped off the mean streets of Underbelly Razor on Monday to promote his fight with Daniel Geale.

Garth Wood dresses like an old-time fighter, just like his throwback pugilistic style.

GARTH Wood stepped off the mean streets of Underbelly Razor at Monday’s press conference.

Asked who was supposed to be dressed as, as he came to promote Wednesday night’s fight against former middleweight champion Daniel Geale, Wood jokingly answered “Jake La Motta”.

Later, though, when the lights were off and the cameras were out away, Wood revealed the silent intent of his three piece suit and paperboy cap.

“Johnny Lewis tagged me a throwback fighter and as a kid the person I looked up to was my pop,” he said.

“People used to say to me ‘Ken Wood, gees he could fight’, and I looked up to him for that simple fact.

“He was a Digger and I’ve got an ANZAC Digger tattoo that I carry with me into battle. It’s a very spiritual game and I look for every ounce of positivity that I can, and I get that with my pop.”

News_Image_File: The press conference that involved Daniel Geale and Garth Wood, plus Paul Gallen to the right.

Fighters are naturally superstitious, forever wary of upsetting the gods.

They can find a slight where none exists and an advantage where they have every right to think it is something else.

Wood has found plenty of omens for tomorrow’s fight.

Some time ago in training he began having trouble with his knuckles so trainer Lincoln Hudson went back to what used to work.

Instead of wrapping his hands the modern way, with modern tape, Hudson wrapped Wood’s hands with rope.

It was the way it was done way back when, the thicker bandaging between his fingers easing the pressure on his knuckles.

News_Rich_Media: Aussie duo Daniel Geale and Garth Wood join Ben Damon in the Fox Sports studio for a heated interview ahead of their much-anticipated bout next week.

He will then dress his hands in old fashioned Everlast gloves.

It has a symmetry that, to him, makes complete sense.

He grew up watching the likes of Jeff Fenech and Jeff Harding training at Newtown Police Boys Club and fight, when they began to make it, at the Hordern Pavilion.

Tomorrow, for the first time in a long time, the Hordern is again dressing up as a fight venue.

A throwback fight at a throwback venue, Wood also knows that his best chance of upsetting the highly credentialed Geale is to come with a throwback fight.

He won’t be trying to finesse a victory.

He plans to corner Geale, then make him fight.