Mauricio Lara vs Leigh Wood rematch set for May 27 in Manchester

Mauricio Lara and Leigh Wood will indeed run it back, as Matchroom Boxing officially announced a rematch between the two featherweights today, set for May 27 in Manchester, England.

Lara beat Wood in a fantastic fight on Feb. 18 in Nottingham, Wood’s hometown. It was a really compelling fight to watch, as Wood boxed very well and was leading in the fight, before the heavy-handed Lara dropped and stopped him in the seventh round.

Lara (26-2-1, 19 KO) took the WBA featherweight title from Wood (26-3, 16 KO) that day, and now Wood will attempt to get it back.

Promoter Eddie Hearn also said that the winner will face Josh Warrington, which is quite a testament to Warrington’s drawing power, since he’s 1-2-1 in his last four fights and coming off of an IBF title loss to Luis Alberto Lopez in December.

But Hearn has wanted to make Warrington vs Wood for a while now, and there’s also legit bad blood between Lara and Warrington. Lara upset Warrington in early 2021, and their rematch ended in a technical draw seven months later. The two went at it following the Wood vs Lara fight in February.

The show will also feature the Matchroom debut of 140 lb contender Jack Catterall, plus more to be announced, and will come a week after Matchroom’s big Katie Taylor vs Chantelle Cameron show in Dublin, and three weeks after Matchroom’s Canelo Alvarez return in Mexico on May 6, so Matchroom are putting together a busy May, at least, with some good fights and big names in action.