FIGHT WEEK
MAURICIO LARA WILL TRY TO PROVE HIS KNOCKOUT VICTORY OVER JOSH WARRINGTON IN FEBRUARY WAS NO FLUKE.
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MAURICIO LARA (23-2, 16 KOs)
VS. JOSH WARRINGTON (30-1, 7 KOs)
- Date: Saturday, Sept. 4
- Time: 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT
- Where: Headingley Rugby Stadium, Leeds, England
- TV/Stream: DAZN
- Cost: DAZN is $19.99 per month or $99 annually
- Division: Featherweight
- At stake: No titles
- Pound-for-pound ranking: None
- Odds: Warrington 1½-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
- Also on the card: Katie Taylor vs. Jennifer Han, lightweights (for Taylor’s IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO titles); Conor Benn vs. Adrian Granados, welterweights; Jovanni Straffon vs. Maxi Hughes, lightweights
- Prediction: Warrington UD
- Background: The last time Warrington fought Lara things didn’t go well. The then-undefeated Leeds fighter took a terrible beating from then-unknown Mauricio Lara in February, leaving the SSE Arena ring with a ninth-round knockout loss, a fractured jaw, a shoulder injury and a perforated eardrum. Less than seven months later, Warrington is stepping right back into the cauldron. The former featherweight titleholder said afterward that he underestimated the hard-punching Mexican and he believes he’s the more-skillful fighter, which he plans to demonstrate on Saturday. “I’ve watched the first fight a dozen times,” he said. “I’m mentally and physically prepared for Mauricio. It won’t be the same result. I want revenge.” His career appears to be on the line. If he wins, he’s more or less back to where he was before the first fight. If he loses, it will be difficult to rebuild. Meanwhile, Lara, who instantaneously became a major player in the division, is out to prove that his victory in the first fight was no fluke. Also on the card, Katie Taylor (18-0, 6 KOs) defends her undisputed lightweight championship against Jennifer Han (18-3-1, 1 KO). The gifted Irishwoman is coming off a close 10-round decision over Natasha Jonas in May. Han, from El Paso, Texas, has won eight consecutive fights – all in her hometown – but is taking a significant step up in opposition.
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