Avila Perspective, Chap. 151: England vs Mexico; RIP Jeanette Zacarias

Avila Perspective, Chap. 151: England vs Mexico; RIP Jeanette Zacarias

After several England versus Mexico matches went awry, the Brits hope things have turned around and they are back in charge. And no, we are not talking about soccer or football.

Matchroom Boxing optimistically seeks to see Josh Warrington (30-1, 7 KOs) reverse a knockout loss to Mauricio Lara (23-2, 16 KOs), a banger from Mexico City in a fight card held at Headingley Rugby Stadium in the Englishman’s hometown of Leeds on Saturday Sept. 4. DAZN will stream the boxing card.

The last time these two met Warrington predicted a knockout and was essentially knocked out in the ninth. Lara was severely underestimated. You never bang with a banger as the Leeds lad learned. Banging was just not his cup of tea.

Knockouts are Lara’s cup of tea, however, or his cup of champurrado.

Don’t expect a revisit of last February when Lara stripped Warrington of his senses and undefeated record. The taller British fighter won’t be trying to out-macho Lara this time around. He’s more likely to pull an Anthony Joshua track meet.

But unlike Joshua, the giant muscular knockout wonder who ran for his life against a chubby Andy Ruiz, the art of boxing truly depicts Warrington’s true style.

Expect Warrington to give Lara more angles than a sextant.

In another Britain against the world matchup, Conor Benn (18-0, 12 KOs) finally fights Chicago-based American Adrian Granados (21-8-3, 15 KOs). Their first expected encounter was postponed due to Benn testing positive for the coronavirus.

Granados has experience and toughness and should provide a solid test against Benn.

Katie’s World

For many watching the Matchroom Boxing card, the undisputed lightweight champion Katie Taylor returning to the boxing ring after last fighting on May 1 against Natasha Jonas has the most allure.

Though Taylor has more clout than Warrington or any other non-heavyweight from the United Kingdom for American audiences, she has been placed in a co-main event status when it comes to British viewers. In reality, Taylor rules the roost.

Not to bash British fighters, it’s simply that American fans are not aware of the talent emanating from the places like Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland or England. Geography happens to be a big weakness for most Americans. Furthermore, though boxing has many fans in the USA, television focuses more on team sports, not individual sports like boxing. Only hardcore fans follow boxing.

Taylor has risen to the top of the heap when it comes to female boxing. She and maybe four others are known worldwide.

The 2012 Olympic gold medalist from Ireland has a crowd-pleasing style and rounded up all the various lightweight world titles to stand on top of the world of the 135-pound division.

Taylor (18-0, 6 KOs) will be defending the undisputed status for a fifth time when she faces Texan Jennifer Han (18-3-1) on the Warrington-Lara card on Saturday.

Han, a former featherweight world titlist, comes from a fighting family out of the border town of El Paso, Texas. Her brother Abraham Han was a middleweight contender. Younger sister Heather Han fought at a high level in the amateur boxing scene. All were introduced to the fight scene by their father.

RIP Jeanette Zacarias

Mexican fighter Jeanette Zacarias Zapata passed away on Thursday Sept. 2, after suffering a knockout loss in a fight in Montreal, Canada on Saturday, Aug. 28. She was only 18 years old.

Zacarias fought out of Aguascalientes, Mexico and had won two fights but on Saturday, she suffered her third consecutive knockout loss. The fight against Marie Pier Houle was stopped by referee Albert Padulo Jr. at the end of the fourth round of a scheduled six-round fight.

A grainy tape of the fight shows that she was standing when the referee stopped the action at the end of the 2-minute round but was hurt. She was immediately attended by personnel and then taken to a nearby hospital.

She is the second female prizefighter to die after a fight. A South African boxer Phindile Mwelase passed away in October 2014.

We all honor Zacarias and offer her family, friends and supporters our sincere condolences.

Fights to Watch

Sat. DAZN 11 a.m. Josh Warrington (30-1) vs Mauricio Lara (23-2); Katie Taylor (18-0) vs Jennifer Han (18-3-1); Conor Benn (18-0) vs Adrian Granados (21-8-3).

Sat. FITE 5:30 p.m. Cletus Seldin (25-1) vs Victor Vazquez (11-5).

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