Mauricio Lara v Leigh Wood: Mexican misses weight for world title defence
Mauricio Lara is set to be stripped of his WBA featherweight belt after failing to make the nine stone limit for his title fight against Leigh Wood.
The Mexican, who weighed in at 9st 3.8lbs, was stopped by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) from attempting to lose the weight.
Wood made the limit for Saturday’s bout in Manchester and is eligible to win the title he lost to Lara in February.
The Englishman was stopped in the round seven of their first fight.
After a weight check on Wednesday, the Board raised concerns about how heavy the champion was and did not want Lara cutting weight below 9st 2.5lb.
Meanwhile, Terri Harper’s hastily re-arranged world title defence is on track, after England’s WBA light-middleweight champion made weight for her fight against Croatia’s Ivana Habazin.
Harper fights on the undercard in Manchester, with Jack Catterall’s light-welterweight contest against Darragh Foley the chief support.
Wood is not the only Briton in world title action this weekend, with Lawrence Okolie and Chris Billam-Smith also fighting in Bournemouth.
Bournemouth local Billam-Smith challenges Londoner Okolie for the WBO cruiserweight title at the Vitality Stadium and there was no such weight drama on a sun-drenched Bournemouth Pier.
The former sparring partners weighed the same at 14st 3lbs.
In Belfast, Northern Ireland’s Michael Conlan will weigh-in for his world title tilt against IBF featherweight champion Luis Alberto Lopez on Friday evening.
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