The featherweight division looks considerably different after Saturday night.
Mauricio Lara wasn’t given much of a chance to beat former featherweight titleholder Josh Warrington at SSE Arena in London in part because most people had no idea how good the 22-year-old Mexican is.
Now we know.
Lara put Warrington down twice and stopped him 54 seconds into Round 9 of a scheduled 10-round bout, which instantly makes Lara a player at 126 pounds and sends the previously unbeaten Warrington back to the drawing board.
The only negative for Lara (22-2, 15 KOs) was that he didn’t win a title because Warrington (30-1, 7 KOs) gave up his belt. He can live with that.
“I go away with a great flavor in my mouth,” Lara said. “It’s great for Mexico. There’s a tinge of sadness that I wasn’t able to get a belt but I might get that in the future.”
Warrington (30-1, 7 KOs) was one of the hottest in the world, with consecutive victories over Lee Selby, Carl Frampton, Kid Galahad and, most recently, Sofiane Takoucht. He gave up the IBF belt rather than fight Galahad again as ordered by the sanctioning body but remained a top featherweight.
The Leeds fighter hadn’t been in ring since the Takoucht fight, in October 2019 — 16 months ago — but most believed he would cruise on Saturday night. He was about a 13-1 favorite.
Lara? He had a nice record and word out of Mexico was that he had power but he had never fought outside Latin America and had never faced anyone near Warrington’s level, although he was somehow ranked No. 8 by the IBF.
Well, it didn’t take long for the underdog to demonstrate that he was a threat to Warrington. The two engaged in several spirited, give-and-take rounds to open the fight. Spectators would’ve loved the action had there been any in the arena, which was empty because of COVID-19.
Warrington might’ve been somewhat busier and more accurate with his punches than Lara but the first three rounds were close.
Then came a turning point. Lara put Warrington down with a left hook about 35 seconds into Round 4, hurting him badly in the process. The glassy-eyed Englishman got to his feet only to take a brutal beating for the remainder of the round.
Lara suggested afterward that he held back just a bit.
“We worked on going round by round,” Lara said. “That was our plan. I didn’t want to tire myself out. I wanted to take it round by round. He was No. 1 in the world for a reason.”
Still, Lara landed so many punishing blows during that short period that referee Howard Foster surely will be criticized by some for allowing the fight to continue.
However, not only did Warrington survive, he regained enough of his senses and strength in his legs to give a decent account of himself over the next several rounds. One could argue that he even won one or two rounds between the fifth and eighth.
Then came the end. Lara hurt Warrington with a left, followed with several more punches and then put the loser flat on his back with one more left hook in Round 9. Foster didn’t bother to count, instead waving off the fight.
Just like that, Lara became a major player in the division. And Warrington’s future is cloudy.
“That’s why it’s the best sport in the world,” said Eddie Hearn, Warrington’s promoter. “A young man 22 years of age from Mexico City comes in and no one gives him a chance. We knew he could fight. … We spoke to people in Mexico.
“[But] I didn’t think he would beat the No. 1-ranked featherweight in the world. And he did. You have to give him tremendous credit.”
In preliminary fights, Zelfa Barrett (25-1, 15 KOs) of England defeated veteran Kiko Martinez (41-10-2, 29 KOs) of Spain by a unanimous decision in a 12-round junior lightweight bout. The scores were 118-111, 118-111 and 116-113.
And Leigh Wood (24-2, 14 KOs) of England stopped countryman Reece Mould (13-1, 6 KOs) in the ninth round in a scheduled 12-round featherweight fight.