Mauricio Lara and Leigh Wood’s quickly made rematch received a pre-fight stain with the WBA world featherweight title only on the line Wood as Lara missed the 126 pound weight limit. Lara was in fact barred by the British Boxing Board of Control from weighing anything under 128.5 pounds, eventually coming in nearly 4 pounds over the limit.
The first fight ended badly for Wood losing his title from 7th round stoppage just over three months ago in Nottingham. Wood’s trainer Ben Davison came under criticism due to throwing the towel in the first fight and Matchroom were give a similar treatment for hastily putting the rematch together. However, it paid off as Wood got the unanimous decision victory to become a two-time world champion at Manchester Arena.
The 1st round started with Wood taking the center of the ring taking a left from Lara in the first 30 seconds. It wouldn’t deter the Englishman as he continued on the front foot with a little more caution. Apart from a handful of jabs and the odd body shot from Wood little else happened in the opening three minutes.
A more assertive Lara landed a counter left in the opening 25 seconds of round 2. The Mexican would then hit the deck due to a push. It would see Wood settle into a rhythm, landing a good uppercut and right hook midway through the round. Wood landed a good right uppercut that sent Lara tumbling to the canvas with 34 seconds left on the clock. Lara was up on his feet immediately eager to make up for a poor round.
The 3rd started with Lara coming in with his head catching Wood flush on the chin. It would not deter the man from Nottingham landing a good right hand that brought a roar from the local crowd in Manchester. Wood had really found his groove by now, countering an u composed Lara rattled by his poor start. Wood’s jab to body and switch of stance was giving his adversary no opportunity to find his own chance to settle.
Not much happened in the 4th but it was Wood that was in full control behind his trusty jab. A slight cut over the left was the only concern for him as he continued to calmly outbox the Mexican. The 5th continued with Wood to show much superior movement and boxing skills, Lara was lunging forward with some desperation missing the target on the vast majority of his output. Wood had set a pace that suited his style that saw him breeze through rounds 6 and the dreaded round 7. A right uppercut left hook combination the highlight at the end of the 7th with his opponent looking ever increasingly hopeless.
Rounds 8, 9 and 10 saw Wood happy to sit behind his jab and patiently wait for opportunities to counter. He was making it look easy against a sluggish Lara all night. A solitary right hand landed in the 9th that very slightly knocked Wood off balance, but it was back to business as Wood continued to dominate. Picking season is the only way I can really describe the final two rounds, Wood’s performance was punch perfect against a lackluster Lara the whole evening.
The judges were all in full agreement with scores of 118-109, 116-11 and 118-109 for Wood to be recrowned as the WBA world featherweight champion. Lara took his defeat admirably.
