By: Hans Themistode
Josh Warrington promised revenge.
The former IBF featherweight titleholder, saw his reign come to an end roughly seventh months ago at the hands of Mauricio Lara. Despite being the heavy favorite in their first contest, Warrington had no answers on the night as he was dropped twice and ultimately stopped in the ninth round.
Since then, Warrington locked himself in the gym and vowed to become a better fighter. Not only did he pledge to improve but he also assured his fans that he would take back his world title. After sharing the ring with Lara once again, things didn’t exactly work out the way he was expecting.
As Warrington made his way through the crowd at Headingley Rugby League Stadium in Leeds UK, the crowd jumped to its feet. Warrington smiled as he patted onlookers with his gloves. Lara, a native of Mexico, seemingly had no issues with the boo’s that were hurled in his direction as he made his way to the ring. Motivated as ever to keep his world title and prove that their first contest was no fluke, Lara was unfazed by the fans of Warrington.
Never afraid of a dog fight, Warrington was far more cautious this time around. He kept his hands up high and waited for the perfect moment. That would come approximately one minute in as Warrington landed a strong right hand which pushed Lara into the ropes. As the 23-year-old attempted to land something of his own, Warrington rushed in and held Lara tightly.
It wasn’t the first time that Warrington engaged in early clench work, and each time, Lara motioned to the referee while tapping his head as if to say Warrington was head butting him.
Those warnings by Lara proved to be the story of how the fight would go.
Early in the second round, after Warrington landed a one-two combination, he once again went in for the clench. In doing so, he proved to be far too enthusiastic. Just before Warrington grabbed his man, he accidentally head-butted Lara. That in turn, led to an enormous gash. From there, the ringside doctor stepped onto the ring apron to take a long look at Lara. After a few seconds, he was deemed unable to continue and their contest was officially ruled a technical draw.
Following their short time in the ring, promoter Eddie Hearn appeared interested in locking the two in the ring again. As for an exact time frame, Lara vs. Warrington 3 will depend on how fast Lara is able to heal from his injury.