[3][5] He represented England at the 1939 European Amateur Boxing Championships in Dublin, losing to Franciszek Szymura of Poland in the semi-final, and to Lajos Szigeti of Hungary in the third place bout.

He began his professional career in January 1942 with a third-round knockout of Fred Clarke,[3][6][7] winning all of his first 20 bouts, 19 by stoppage, including a third-round knockout of Jack Robinson to take the BBBofC Northern Area cruiserweight title in September 1942 and a win over Canadian champion Al Delaney in October 1944.

[3] In July 1945, at White Hart Lane, Tottenham, Woodcock defeated the current champion Jack London to take the British and Empire heavyweight tiles.

[9] Woodcock won his next four bouts, including a win over Irish champion Martin Thornton,[10] before suffering his first loss, by TKO at the hands of the vastly more experienced Mauriello at Madison Square Garden in May 1946.

[3][11] He bounced back from this by defeating Freddie Mills on points in June,[12] before winning the European title by knocking out Paul Albert Renet in the sixth round in July.

[26][27] On 2 June 1949, Woodcock again beat Freddie Mills, retaining the British, European and Empire heavyweight titles by a KO in round 14, in front of 50,000 people at the White City Stadium.

In the event, a 15-round contest, Woodcock's left eye sustained a bad cut, and the fight was stopped in the fourth round.

[36] Woodcock was known as a skilled and aggressive boxer with a good punch, however his face was vulnerable as the result of reopened cuts sustained through many bouts, and he was small for a heavyweight, putting him at a disadvantage on occasion.

He enlisted the help of fellow Z-Cars colleagues David Rose and Alan Plater but could not progress to production due to Woodcock's reluctance to be featured.