Tag: Leigh Wood

Leigh Wood did his job by making weight. Then he did his job in the ring.

Wood, who lost his 126-pound title to Maurico Lara by knockout in February, turned the tables on the Mexican by putting him down and winning a unanimous decision Saturday night in Manchester, England.

The official scores were 118-109, 118-109 and 116-111. Boxing Junkie also scored it 118-109, 10 rounds to two.

Wood (27-3, 16 KOs) also boxed well in the first fight with Lara, leading on all three scorecards after six rounds. Then disaster struck: A left hook from the hard-punching challenger led to a seventh-round stoppage.

The Nottingham fighter insisted upon an immediate rematch, which turned out to be a smart move.

Lara (26-3-1, 19 KOs) provided drama on Friday, when he failed to make weight by 3-plus pounds and lost his belt on the scale.

The fact that Wood agreed to go through with the fight even though Lara was essentially a junior lightweight was indicative of the confidence with which he would ultimately fight.

Perhaps Lara’s failed efforts to make weight left him drained, which might explain a listless performance on Saturday. Maybe Wood is just the better fighter. Or maybe both factors were at work.

Wood gave an outstanding performance, outboxing and outworking the former champion from the outset and never letting up.

The Englishman’s best moment came in the second round, when he dropped Lara with a right uppercut. However, the knockdown played an insignificant role in the one-sided scoring.

Wood outlanded Lara in each of the 12 rounds, according to CompuBox.

Lara had some positive moments, landing clean shots here and there, but he was never consistently effective. In the end, he was outclassed.

[lawrence-related id=35752]

Leigh Wood did his job by making weight. Then he did his job in the ring.

Wood, who lost his 126-pound title to Maurico Lara by knockout in February, turned the tables on the Mexican by putting him down and winning a unanimous decision Saturday night in Manchester, England.

The official scores were 118-109, 118-109 and 116-111. Boxing Junkie also scored it 118-109, 10 rounds to two.

Wood (27-3, 16 KOs) also boxed well in the first fight with Lara, leading on all three scorecards after six rounds. Then disaster struck: A left hook from the hard-punching challenger led to a seventh-round stoppage.

The Nottingham fighter insisted upon an immediate rematch, which turned out to be a smart move.

Lara (26-3-1, 19 KOs) provided drama on Friday, when he failed to make weight by 3-plus pounds and lost his belt on the scale.

The fact that Wood agreed to go through with the fight even though Lara was essentially a junior lightweight was indicative of the confidence with which he would ultimately fight.

Perhaps Lara’s failed efforts to make weight left him drained, which might explain a listless performance on Saturday. Maybe Wood is just the better fighter. Or maybe both factors were at work.

Wood gave an outstanding performance, outboxing and outworking the former champion from the outset and never letting up.

The Englishman’s best moment came in the second round, when he dropped Lara with a right uppercut. However, the knockdown played an insignificant role in the one-sided scoring.

Wood outlanded Lara in each of the 12 rounds, according to CompuBox.

Lara had some positive moments, landing clean shots here and there, but he was never consistently effective. In the end, he was outclassed.

[lawrence-related id=35752]

Mauricio Lara lost his 126-pound title on the scale but will still face Leigh Wood on Saturday in a rematch of their February bout, which Lara won by KO. Wood would claim the vacant belt with a victory.

MAURICIO LARA (26-2-1, 19 KOS)
VS. LEIGH WOOD (26-3, 16 KOS)

• When: Saturday, May 27
• Time: 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT (main event later in show)
• Where: AO Arena, Manchester, England
• TV/Stream: DAZN
• Division: Featherweight (126-pound limit)
• At stake: Vacant WBA title (at stake only for Wood)
• Pound-for-pound ranking: None
• Odds: Lara 2½-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)

• Also on the card: Melvin Jerusalem vs. Oscar Collazo, strawweights (for Jerusalem’s WBO title); Oscar Duarte vs. D’Angelo Keyes, lightweights; John Ramirez vs. Fernando Diaz, junior bantamweights
• Prediction: Lara KO 5
• Background: Lara lost his WBA title on the scale, coming in 3½ pounds overweight. The 25-year-old Mexican has become a Brit killer. He knocked out Josh Warrington in 2021 in London to burst upon the boxing scene, after which the two fought to technical draw when Lara suffered a bad cut. That led to a shot at Wood’s title in February, when Lara stopped Wood with a monstrous left hook in the seventh round of a fight the loser was winning on the cards. Wood gets a second chance on Saturday. The 34-year-old from Nottingham delivered the performance of his career in March of last year, putting Michael Conlan through the ropes for a spectacular 12^th-round knockout in defense of his belt. And he did well against Lara even though he was cut in the opening round. However, a left hook to Wood’s chin put him down and hurt him badly. He was able to get up on unsteady legs but his trainer threw in the towel.

[lawrence-related id=35752]

Mauricio Lara lost his 126-pound title on the scale but will still face Leigh Wood on Saturday in a rematch of their February bout, which Lara won by KO. Wood would claim the vacant belt with a victory.

MAURICIO LARA (26-2-1, 19 KOS)
VS. LEIGH WOOD (26-3, 16 KOS)

• When: Saturday, May 27
• Time: 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT (main event later in show)
• Where: AO Arena, Manchester, England
• TV/Stream: DAZN
• Division: Featherweight (126-pound limit)
• At stake: Vacant WBA title (at stake only for Wood)
• Pound-for-pound ranking: None
• Odds: Lara 2½-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)

• Also on the card: Melvin Jerusalem vs. Oscar Collazo, strawweights (for Jerusalem’s WBO title); Oscar Duarte vs. D’Angelo Keyes, lightweights; John Ramirez vs. Fernando Diaz, junior bantamweights
• Prediction: Lara KO 5
• Background: Lara lost his WBA title on the scale, coming in 3½ pounds overweight. The 25-year-old Mexican has become a Brit killer. He knocked out Josh Warrington in 2021 in London to burst upon the boxing scene, after which the two fought to technical draw when Lara suffered a bad cut. That led to a shot at Wood’s title in February, when Lara stopped Wood with a monstrous left hook in the seventh round of a fight the loser was winning on the cards. Wood gets a second chance on Saturday. The 34-year-old from Nottingham delivered the performance of his career in March of last year, putting Michael Conlan through the ropes for a spectacular 12^th-round knockout in defense of his belt. And he did well against Lara even though he was cut in the opening round. However, a left hook to Wood’s chin put him down and hurt him badly. He was able to get up on unsteady legs but his trainer threw in the towel.

[lawrence-related id=35752]