Josh Warrington and Mauricio Lara rematch ends in unpalatable draw
Seven months after their first encounter, featherweight fighters Josh “The Leeds Warrior” Warrington (30-1-1, 7 KO’s) and Mauricio “Bronco” Lara (23-2-1, 16 KO’s) were met with tremendous disappointment. This is due to a horrific gash that Lara suffered ending the bout in a sour technical draw.
When the two first met on February 13, the Mexican pugilist claimed a decisive ninth round TKO. The detrimental defeat not only stood as his first professional blemish, it caused Warrington to plummet in the ranks. As a result, the Leeds Warrior entered into a dark and mentally painful period in his life. Yet, like a real fighter, Warrington used this pain as motivation to come back stronger.
Sadly, the bout has provided neither fighter any satisfaction. Heading into the rematch, Lara was ranked #3 (IBF), #4 (WBC) and #7 (WBO). Naturally, now that their series has not seen any resolution, both men would love to run the fight back. Yet only time will tell if Warrington and Lara mix it up again.
SOGGY CONCLUSION
With the clang of the opening bell, Warrington took the fight to Lara with a focused aggression. While he was careful not to linger in front of the champ, he landed a bevy of hard shots that seemed to briefly fluster his foe. In the final minute of the opening period though, Lara did manage to crack Warrington with a hard hook that injected a hair of caution into him.
In the second round, the two fighters’ heads came together in an unintentional headbutt that Lara came up on the worse end of. Bronco ostentatiously grimaced and recoiled upon impact. The collision opened up a colossal gash over his left eye. Despite finishing the period, the ghastly cut led to the prizefight being waved off. The official final ruling was a technical draw.
In his post-fight interview, Warrington expressed nothing but disappointment and anguish for the fans.
By: Bakari Simpson
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