Wood has vowed he will take the fight to him, not least because he has a point to prove. We know Leigh Wood is a great champion but I have big aspirations and a great desire to become World Champion and as I’ve said, whatever it takes, I have to do it this time. Lara has gone so far as to suggest he has been “damaged” by the Conlan fight and believes he can exploit that even with the crowd on the home fighter’s side in Nottingham. He will struggle with the Mexican’s power and raw style but as long as he doesn’t invite him onto him, there is always a possibility Lara will wear himself out. His inactivity is possibly the only way you can explain why some bookmakers have the British fighter at a huge 3-1, despite being the reigning champion and thriving in his home city. Yet he has been active since with two wins by KO, which cannot be said for Wood, even though he has been elevated to full world champion status by the WBA.
The rematch was a washout, a technical draw after Lara was badly cut in a clash of heads. Had Warrington not just vacated his IBF featherweight belt, Lara would have been wearing it. There is every chance Josh Warrington would have thought twice about fighting him if he knew how the first bout would end, with the Leeds Warrior being left requiring oxygen. Lara has enjoyed his own redemption story. He has lost just twice, once early in his career to Gavin McDonnell and more recently by majority decision to Jazza Dickens.
Wood’s victory over Can Xu could perhaps be dismissed as an aberration but to follow it up in such spectacular fashion against Conlan, who is not to be dismissed lightly? Proof that Wood should not be written off quite so easily back on home turf against Mauricio Lara. Wood could be sure of keeping his belt – he had, after all, been under the cosh from the first bell and some feared he would be beaten within a round. With that one flurry, everything changed. It was an early contender for knockout of the year when Leigh Wood sent Michael Conlan hurtling out of the ring in the 12 th round in a gruelling defence of his WBA (regular) featherweight title. For exclusive interviews, fight previews and boxing news straight to your inbox, sign up for our weekly newsletter here. “Boxing Tonight” is i‘s weekly look ahead to the Saturday night action in the UK and beyond, with the details on how to watch and what to look out for.
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