By Jake Tiernan: Mauricio Lara will defend his WBA featherweight title in a rematch against former champion Leigh Wood on May 27th or Josh Warrington in a trilogy fight on the same date, according to Eddie Hearn.
The initial plan is for Hearn to try and negotiate an immediate rematch between Lara (26-2-1, 19 KOs) and recently dethroned WBA 1226-lb champion Wood (26-2, 16 KOs) for May 27th at the Sheffield Arena in the UK.
Hearn will attempt to negotiate the purse with the 34-year-old Wood, who was knocked out in the seventh round in a come-from-behind victory last February in Nottingham.
Does Warrington deserve a title shot?
It’s unclear why Warrington would be getting a title shot against Lara because he doesn’t deserve to fight for a world title because he’s coming off a loss to Luis Alberto Lopez. Other than the money Lara-Warrington III would make, there’s no reason why this fight should take place if the Lara-Wood negotiations fail.
If Wood fails to agree to the terms, Hearn will move on and set up a trilogy fight between Lara and Warrington (31-2-1, 8 KOs).
Warrington, 32, is coming off a 12-round majority decision loss to Luis Alberto Lopez last December in Leeds, England. Lara has fought Warrington twice, stopping him in the ninth round in their first fight in February 2021.
In their rematch in September 2021, it was ruled a second-round technical draw after Lara suffered a bad cut from an accidental head-butt from Warrington, slamming into him with the crown of his head several times.
Some boxing fans, Lara included, believed Warrington purposefully head-butted to get out of the fight to avoid being knocked out in front of his fans.
“Let me tell you the truth. Leigh Wood has a rematch clause. We still have to negotiate that purse with Leigh under the terms of the contract,” said Eddie Hearn to Boxing Social about the Mauricio Lara vs. Leigh Wood rematch.
“Nottingham is not available on May 27th. We’re going on May 27th. The City Ground might be available. I’ve reached out to them. If we can’t agree to terms with Leigh Wood. By the way, if we go to an arena, it’ll be Sheffield Arena on May 27th because Nottingham Arena is not available.
“If we can’t agree to terms with Leigh Wood, Mauricio Lara will fight Josh Warrington at the First Direct Arena on May 27th. I’ll see Leigh [Wood] on Monday.
“So Leigh Wood has the option to do the fight. If we can’t agree to terms, Josh Warrington will fight him on May 27th. Mauricio Lara will fight Leigh Wood or Josh Warrington on May 27th,” said Hearn.