England’s Leigh Wood defends his WBA featherweight belt against the No 1 challenger Mauricio Lara of Mexico at the Nottingham Arena in Nottingham on Saturday night.
In February 2020, after losing a ten rounder to Jazza Dickens, Wood stopped Reece Mould in a clash for the vacant British featherweight title
Wood won the WBA featherweight belt on 31 July 2021 with a last-round stoppage win over Can Xu.
The 34-year-old Wood (26-2; 16) retained the WBA belt in the fight of the year when he stopped Michael Conlan in the 12th round.
The 24-year-old Lara (25-2-1; 18) is considered to be the No 1 featherweight in the world and two years ago scored a stunning upset against the fancied Josh Warrington in the ninth round.
In a rematch with Warrington, unfortunately the fight was stopped in the second round after a clash of heads, and ruled a technical draw.
The Mexican goes into the fight as the favourite with odds at 4/9 on some sites.
The other main organisation belt holders are Rey Vargas (WBC), Luis Alberto Lopez (IBF), and Emanuel Navarette (WBO).
LEIGH WOOD & LARA HEATED FACE OFF!
— Boxing Kingdom (@BoxingKingdom14) February 14, 2023
JOHNNY NELSON & SECURITY GUARD BREAK IT UP! #WoodLara pic.twitter.com/d0ci58PbrA