By Charles Brun: Josh Warrington commented today about the possibility of meeting up with Mauricio Lara at some point in the future, and it sure sounds like he wants no part of a second clash.
Warrington (30-1, 7 KOs) failed to commit to a second fight with the young 22-year-old Mexican power-puncher Lara despite having a rematch clause.
But what was odd about Warrington’s statement is he wasn’t definitive about wanting to meet up with Lara (22-2, 15 KOs) to try and pay him back for knocking him out in the 9th round last Saturday night at the Wembley Arena in London,.
Perhaps it’s a good thing that Warrington doesn’t fight Lara ever again because it’s a bad style match-up for him, and it always will be. Lara is a young kid, and he’s not going to age out and lose his power soon.
If Warrington fights Lara once more, we’ll probably see the same thing because Josh only fights one way. He’s a volume puncher, who thrives on trading leather at medium to close range. That style is made to order for a guy like Lara with his raw power.
Warrington not saying if he’ll rematch Lara
“He is heavy-handed and holds power that will trouble any Featherweight,” said Warrington in a statement about Lara.
“Will we meet again in a boxing ring? Who knows. We only fought a couple of days ago. But, if the chance comes I will jump at it.”
What on earth is Warrington talking about? It sounds like he’s unclear on the fact that his promoter Eddie Hearn has a rematch clause in the contract with Lara. Surely, Warrington must know about it.
Granted, Warrington reportedly suffered an injured jaw, perforated eardrum, and a shoulder injury. Still, these things shouldn’t keep him from returning in 2021 to fight Lara again if he really wanted to try and avenge the defeat.
Hearn said it himself that there is no bigger fight for Warrington than a rematch with Lara.
When asked about Warrington challenging 126-lb champions Emanuel Navarrete, Gary Russell Jr, and Can Xu, Hearn said the rematch with Lara was bigger than all of them.
If money is what Warrington is after, he should go after the rematch with Lara straightaway rather than go in another direction. Of course, if Warrington has lost his confidence, he’s doing the right thing by avoiding a rematch.
The thing is, if Warrington doesn’t have faith that he can beat Lara in a rematch, how can he hope to beat Russell Jr, Xu, or Navarrete?
What was Warrington doing trading leather?
“Shock knockout for Josh Warrington,” said Gareth Davies. “It was seven knockouts in 30 fights for him. This young Mexican Mauricio Lara came here.
“It was a lottery ticket, a world title fight for him, and he looked strong and focused all week.
“What was Josh Warrington doing trading leather recklessly from the opening bell after being out for 15 months when he’s not a banger anyway.
“Lara knocked out 14 of 20 or something. It was a horrible mistake in the end [for Warrington] to give up that IBF belt.
“What was Josh doing trading leather? I couldn’t believe how reckless that opening round was. I thought, ‘What are we on for here?’
Josh was looking to knock him out early, but he’s not a knockout artist. 15 months of inactivity.
“So many guys are inactive, and it makes them more vulnerable,” said Davies.
Gareth sounds like he’s never watched any of Warrington’s fights before because the guy ALWAYS trades leather with his opponents.
There’s never been a fight during Warrington’s career that he didn’t go toe-to-toe with his opponents.
What was different about last Saturday’s fight was Warrington was battling a guy with actual power and not the run of the mill pitty-pat puncher.
Warrington has spent his entire career fighting guys with moderate to no power, so he’s been able to get away with his reckless style of fighting.
Last Saturday, Warrington met up with a guy finally that could punch, and we saw the end result of that him getting smashed to bits.
Would Warrington’s old promoter make the terrible mistake of throwing him in with a guy like Lara? It’s highly unlikely.
Let’s face it; Hearn blew it by matching the volume-puncher Warrington with a guy with power rather than another weak puncher.
Josh was given the chance to win
“If Howard Foster had stopped it in the fourth round, a certain vocal element would have shouted, ‘You should have given him more opportunity.’
“He did come back in the fifth. Yes, it was championship’s heart and fitness that kept him in there, and yes, he did take a shellacking for the better part of five rounds.
“There were moments in rounds five through nine that he was beginning to exhaust El Bronco as well, the wild horse.
“So he was given the best opportunity. People say that Howard Foster carried him back to his corner, and all this kind of nonsense.
“Josh Warrington has been in a couple of wars. Look at the Frampton. They were back and forth wars.
“Yes, he was hurt in the fourth round, and if he won the fight in the ninth round, people would have said it’s one of the greatest comebacks ever. They [Warrington’s] corner thought he could put off,” said Davies.
It sure looked like the referee was willing to give Warrington the benefit of the doubt when he was dropped in the fourth round.
A lot of referees would have halted the fight as soon as Warrington got back to his feet and was unable to stand firmly without swaying drunkenly.
Will Warrington ever be the same?
“Did he take punches that may affect him later on? Yes, he will,” Davies said of Warrington. “Is his jaw broken and his earn perforated?
“That’s what we’re hearing. It was a brutal horrible finish, but I think they gave him every opportunity to try and rescue that contest,” said Davis.
There’s a lot of doubt whether Warrington will ever be the same, and we might already be seeing that he’s not going to be the fighter he was before.
The way that Warrington danced around the possibility of fighting Lara again shows clearly he’s not the same fighter he in the past.
When Warrington does resume his career, we’ll see if he can still take a shot without nosediving to the canvas.
Given how badly Warrington was knocked out, it might be a good idea for Hearn to start matching him like he was used to by putting him in with guys that can’t punch.