Fast Results from London: Lara Brutally KOs Warrington in a Shocker

Fast Results from London: Lara Brutally KOs Warrington in a Shocker

The first show of the year in Great Britain was staged today at London’s antiseptic Wembley Arena. Josh Warrington, the Leeds Warrior, topped the bill on the Matchroom card. This was a non-title fight as Warrington recently vacated his IBF world featherweight title rather than adhere to the organization’s dictate that he risk the belt against mandatory challenger Kid Galahad, a man that he had already defeated in a bout that was close but provided little entertainment value.

In the opposite corner was little-known Mauricio Lara who brought a 21-2 (1 NC) record and reputedly packed a hard punch. But Warrington, although potentially rusty, having missed all of 2020, had little fear of Lara, predicting he would knock out the 22-year-old Mexican invader in the sixth round.

The Leeds Warrior, previously undefeated (30-0, 7 KOs), was in for a rude surprise. The complexion of the fight changed dramatically in the fourth round when Lara put him down hard with a left hook. Warrington barely survived the round and from that point on, the rout was on. Lara jolted him again in the sixth and again in the eighth and finished matters in the ninth with a scorching left hook. The referee didn’t bother to count. Warrington was able to leave the ring under his own power but was taken to a hospital as a precaution.

Warrington figured that a win over Lara would boost him into a fight with WBA “regular” featherweight title-holder Can Xu or perhaps Gary Russell Jr. Now it’s back to the drawing board if he chooses to keep fighting.

Co-Feature

Manchester’s Zelfa Barrett, a super featherweight, stepped up in class against Spain’s 34-year-old workhorse Kiko Martinez and passed the test with a strong finish, winning a unanimous decision by scores of 116-113 and 118-111 twice. This was an entertaining fight in which both were bloodied and the bout wasn’t nearly as one-sided as the scores would suggest as Barrett’s promoter Eddie Hearn readily acknowledged.

Martinez was the aggressor. Early in the fight, his punches carried more steam. He stunned Barrett in round two and again in round four. But Barrett, who comes from a fighting family – his cousin is rising light heavyweight contender Lyndon Arthur and he’s trained by his uncle Pat Barrett, a former European title-holder — was better conditioned and pulled away in the final rounds. With the win, Barrett elevated his record to 25-1. Martinez, a participant in seven world title fights, declines to 41-10-2.

Other Bouts

In a featherweight contest, Nottingham’s Leigh Wood advanced to 24-2 (14) and won the BBBofC belt that eluded him several years ago with a ninth-round stoppage of game but out-classed Reece Mould. This was Wood’s first fight with Ben Davison who formerly trained Tyson Fury.

Wood knocked Mould down in the fourth stanza, but the Yorkshireman survived the round and had several good moments before Wood turned up the heat in the ninth, knocking Mould down hard with a left uppercut and following it up with a barrage that collapsed Mould as the referee was stepping in to waive it off. Mould, now 13-1, came in undefeated, but against shabby opposition. His previous opponents had 448 losses between them.

The official time was 1:03. Wood dedicated his triumph to Nicky Booth, the former British bantamweight champion who died a month ago from liver disease at age 40.

In another fight of note, Dalton Smith (7-0, 6 KOs) continued his rapid ascent up the 140-pound ladder with a fast beat-down of Ishmael Ellis (11-4) whose corner pulled him out after three frames. Smith, 24, comes from Sheffield and is rated the best prospect from that city since Prince Naseem Hamed.

Photo credit: Mark Robinson / Matchroom Boxing

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