Leigh Wood vs Mauricio Lara (billed as “Dance with the Devil”) was a
featherweight
Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling.
Boxing
Professional boxing
History
A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...
professional boxing match contested between
WBA featherweight champion Leigh Wood and
Mauricio Lara
Mauricio Lara Acosta (born 23 February 1998) is a Mexican professional boxer. He held the WBA featherweight title in 2023. As of October 2022, Lara is ranked as the world's best active featherweight by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, ...
. The bout took place on 18 February 2023 at the
Motorpoint Arena in
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
, England.
Lara defeated Wood via
technical knockout
A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...
in the 7th round.
Background
On 24 August 2022 was announced that
Leigh Wood would make his second
WBA title defence against Mexican professional boxer
Mauricio Lara
Mauricio Lara Acosta (born 23 February 1998) is a Mexican professional boxer. He held the WBA featherweight title in 2023. As of October 2022, Lara is ranked as the world's best active featherweight by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, ...
at the
Motorpoint Arena in
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
, England on 24 September 2022. However Wood withdrew from the fight ten days before it was supposed to take place, due to a torn biceps suffered in sparring.
The bout was rescheduled for 18 February 2023 at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, England.
Fight card
Rematch
During the
Anthony Joshua vs Jermaine Franklin
Anthony Joshua vs Jermaine Franklin, billed as ''New Dawn'' was a heavyweight boxing match contested between former two-time unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and Jermaine Franklin.
The bout was held at the O2 Arena in Greenwich, Londo ...
broadcast,
Eddie Hearn,
Mauricio Lara
Mauricio Lara Acosta (born 23 February 1998) is a Mexican professional boxer. He held the WBA featherweight title in 2023. As of October 2022, Lara is ranked as the world's best active featherweight by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, ...
and
Leigh Wood appeared in the ring to announce the rematch which is scheduled for 27 May at the
AO Arena
Manchester Arena, currently referred to as the AO Arena for sponsorship reasons, is an indoor arena in Manchester, England, immediately north of the city centre and partly above Manchester Victoria station in air rights space. The arena has the ...
in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, England.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Lara
2023 in boxing
Boxing in England
Boxing matches
Boxing matches in the United Kingdom
Boxing on DAZN
2023 in English sport
February 2023 sports events in the United Kingdom
Sports competitions in Nottingham
2020s in Nottingham