Josh Warrington vs Mauricio Lara: fight details, undercard, how to watch, tale of the tape, ring walks, venue, prediction, background, live streaming ahead of featherweight clash

All you need to know ahead of Josh Warrington's return to the ring against Mauricio Lara

Josh Warrington returns to the ring knowing that he can't afford to slip up against Mexico's Mauricio Lara at The SSE Arena, Wembley on Saturday February 13 if he is to secure mega fights against the likes on Xu Can and Gary Russell later this year.

Warrington (30-0, 7 KOs) makes his long-awaited return to the ring after a 16 month absence, live on Sky Sports in the UK and on DAZN in the U.S. and more than 200 countries and territories, knowing that a win will pave way to the biggest year of his career to date. 

Here is all you need to know ahead of the return of British boxing and 'The Leeds Warrior': 

 

Date:

The fight takes place on 13th February 2021, and is the first boxing event to take place this year in the UK after the BBBofC suspension in January. Warrington makes his return to the ring having not fought since October 2019, as he tried to wait for the return of his huge fanbase in attendance, but the event will now take place behind-closed-doors.

Venue:

It takes place at The SSE Arena, Wembley.

 

Rounds scheduled

12 three-minute championship rounds at featherweight.

 

Ringwalks

The ring walks are expected from 10:30pm UK time but will depend on the outcome of the undercard bouts.

 

Tale of the Tape

Josh Warrington	Tale of The Tape	Mauricio Lara
30	Wins	21
0	Lost	2
7	KOs	14
0	Draws	0
30	Total Bouts	23
23%	KO%	61%
5'7"	Height
	Reach
Orthodox	Stance	Orthodox
Leeds, Yorkshire, UK	Nationality	Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mex
November 14th, 1990	Date of Birth	1998-02-23

 

How to Watch/ Live Stream

UK viewers can watch the event live on Sky Sports from approximately 7pm as part of the standard TV subscription package.

Global viewers can watch the fight live on DAZN streaming service in the U.S. and more than 200 countries and territories globally with the package just £1.99 per month after it's initial global expansion and a monthly subscription is $19.99 and an annual subscription is $99.99 in the US. 

 

Undercard Highilights

Zelfa Barrett defends his IBF inter-continental suer featherweight title against Kiko Martinez in the chief support on the card, after defeating Eric Donovan last time out at Fight Camp in explosive style, earning an explosive stoppage in the eighth round. His opponent

Meanwhile in arguably the fight of the night, Leigh Wood takes on Reece Mould in a well matched contest for the vacant British featherweight title, and both men are extremely keen to take advantage of their opportunity to become domestic champion.

Wood is the more experienced man and could view this as a big opportunity to propel himself back onto the European scene after losng his WBO european title to James Dickens last time out when he fought back in February.

Mould comes into the contest having not fought since 2019, but has already had some domestic success of his own winning the BBBofC English feather title, but is relatively untested at this higher level so faces a real step up against an experienced pro. The more experienced man also is known for his power hitting style, so could really test the resolve of Mould from the offset, in what promises to be an explosive contest for national glory.

 

 

Running Order

Josh Warrington  vs.  Mauricio Lara

Zelfa Barrett  vs.  Kiko Martinez

Leigh Wood  vs.  Reece Mould

Zahid Hussain  vs.  Hopey Price

Ibrahim Nadim  vs.  Jonny Phillips

Dalton Smith  vs.  Ben Fields

 

Background

Josh Warrington has not fought since his victory over Sofiane Takoucht back in October 2019, and will be the first time fighting without fans, and his IBF featherweight world title which he chose to vacate to pursue bigger fights with Xu Can and Gary Russell Jr. At regional level, he held the British, Commonwealth, European and WBC International featherweight titles between 2013 and 2017. He made local history in 2018 with his win over Lee Selby, becoming the first male boxer from Leeds to win a major world title.

His opponent Mauricio Lara is untested at world level, but has not lost since a defeat to Eliot Chavez back in 2018 and is one of just two defeats on his professional career. His last outing was in Dece,ber where he defeated Sergio Puente in Mexico, having fought four times in 2020.

 

Prediction

GBN Editor- Ben Davies

Josh Warrington has been out of the ring for a while, but is an elite level fighter and will be returning against an opponent who will be game, but has no real pedigree at world level. He should have more than enough quality to gain the victory in London.

However without his loyal fanbase in his corner, and ring-rust playing a factor in the early rounds he could find it complex early on to really unload his best shots. However, Warrington has never been an explosive power-punching fighter and should expect to see a wide decision on the scorecards for 'The Leeds Warrior' to maintain his track to world title fights.

 

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