Wood routs Lara, avenges KO loss to regain featherweight title
Catterall ends long layoff with victory in co-feature; Harper retains her junior middleweight world title
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From the moment Leigh Wood lost the WBA featherweight title by seventh-round knockout to Mauricio Lara in February, he never wavered about his decision to invoke his right to an immediate rematch.
It proved to be the right call as Wood toyed with Lara in their sequel in a one-sided rout to reclaim the 126-pound title in the main event of the Matchroom Boxing card on DAZN on Saturday at AO Arena in Manchester, England.
Wood scored a knockdown in the second round and easily boxed his way to a decision against a lethargic or disinterested Lara, winning 118-109, 118-109 and 116-111.
The title was vacant because Lara had badly missed weight on Friday. He was so heavy at 129.8 pounds that the British Boxing Board of Control did now allow him to try to shed the weight, deeming it unsafe.
Wood, who was 125.9 pounds, decided to go through with the fight anyway with the belt only on the line for him and without being able to force Lara into a weight check on Saturday morning.
All the gambles and risks paid off as he put the February debacle behind him.
“What a feeling. I’ve had a fairytale career,” Wood said as he held onto the belt. “I wasn’t losing no matter what — 10 pounds over, whatever. I wasn’t losing tonight. Mauricio Lara is a great fighter but I’ve got a great team. I knew what I had to do.”