IBF world featherweight champion, Josh Warrington, has had his say on whether he’d be open to a trilogy fight with Mauricio Lara in the not too distant future.
Boxing fans were shocked when Warrington was stopped by the relatively unknown Lara during lockdown in February 2021 after vacating his first IBF strap in a hope to pursue bigger accomplishments. The rematch took place at a packed Headingley Stadium that September, but the fight was disappointingly cut short when a clash of heads led to a technical draw after just two rounds.
Speaking to TalkSPORT, Warrington confirmed that he would happily take on the hard-hitting Mexican for a third time, as well as highlighting another potential opponent.
“Personally, I’d love to put Lara [the situation] to bed. A lot of people are saying ‘He’s got your number, he’s your bogeyman, you don’t need to face him’ but you know, he caught me on a bad night.”
“I would [fight Leigh Wood if he beats Lara next]. The Leigh Wood fight is a huge domestic fight.”
After winning the IBF belt back in March, stopping Kiko Martinez, ‘The Leeds Warrior’ has is clear that he wants to settle the Lara conversation once and for all should he come through his mandatory challenger, Luis Alberto Lopez, on December 10.
Since the Warrington rematch, Lara has won two straight fights, both by knockout, and was then signed to face Leigh Wood for his WBA World title. The fight was originally made for September in Nottingham, however Wood was forced to pull out of the fight due to injury. Wood has expressed an interest to reschedule, but he admitted that a fight with the holder of the WBA Super title, Leo Santa Cruz, looks more likely.