Josh Warrington will be keeping a keen eye on the upcoming featherweight title fight between Leigh Wood and Mauricio Lara.
Wood is the champion and, should he beat Lara, would be open to fighting Warrington in either his home town of Nottingham or Warrington’s beloved Leeds. A huge domestic clash that UK fans have been calling for.
In the other corner is Lara, the Mexican who came to the UK at the height of the covid pandemic and knocked Warrington out. A rematch was ruled a no contest after a clash of heads caused a cut on the Mexican.
‘The Leeds Warrior’ has been touted to fight the winner of this one, despite coming off a loss to Luis Alberto Lopez in December last year.
But who would he rather face? He told IFL TV that the bad blood with the Mexican runs too deep to not want a third contest.
“He [Wood] has a big fan base with the Nottingham fans, and I’ve got big support from the people ofLeeds, so it’s a stadium fight, isn’t it?
With that being said, I said to him the other day, nothing personal, but I want Lara to beat him. That’s [for] no other reason than because I want to fight Lara again. Simple as that.”
The two-time champion is confident he’ll face the winner either way, knowing that, despite now being beltless, his stock in the division is still high.
“People certainly know that if they fight me it’s a big fight. Obviously because of the fan base that I have, and because of the profile. World champion, six world title fights, five victorious. Still a relevant name, and I don’t f****ng blow smoke up my own arse but the people of boxing can see that.
That is why people want to see if Josh wants to fight us. That’s why I’m still relevant.”
Wood faces Lara in Nottingham on February 18 live on DAZN – and fans can expect Warrington to be front and centre in the crowd.