Leigh Wood Regains WBA Featherweight Title

Leigh Wood Regains WBA Featherweight Title

By Matt Elliott

After an uncertain twenty-four hours, during which there were calls for Leigh Wood to be pulled out of his rematch with Mauricio Lara, the man from Nottingham put on an excellent display in front of a vociferous crowd at the AO Arena in Manchester, to regain the WBA featherweight title he had lost just three months earlier. 

The uncertainty started on the morning of the weigh-in, with Eddie Hearn confirming internet speculation that Lara would miss the championship weight of 126lbs and effectively vacate his belt on the scales. As part of pre-fight protocol from the British Boxing Board of Control, the fighter’s weight is checked at intervals and with concern over Lara’s progress, the board refused to allow him to weigh in at under 128.5lbs; effectively ending his reign before he could make his first defence and consequently throwing the fight into doubt.

Woods’ trainer, Ben Davison, refused to be drawn on how they would proceed but after seemingly receiving the assurances they needed, it was confirmed on Saturday that the fight would proceed as planned, with Wood knowing victory would see him become a two-time world champion.

Those concerned about the potential weight difference need not have worried, as Wood dominated the fight from the first bell. If anything, the build-up seemed to impact Lara more, the Mexican failing to recapture the form that has seen him marketed as one of the most explosive fighters in the lower-weight divisions. 

After a cautious first round in which Wood had the better of the exchanges, the fight exploded into life in the second, with Lara floored by a right uppercut. The Mexican recovered, but psychologically, Wood had gained the advantage. From there, the fight largely followed the pattern of their first encounter, with Wood controlling the pace, landing regularly on his opponent, especially with body shots, and frustrating Lara as a result. 

Unlike in the first fight, there was to be no stunning knockout blow from Lara; he tried, especially in the middle rounds, and at times he did land, but with insufficient force to cause Wood any real trouble. As the fight entered the later rounds, it felt as if Lara was resigned to his fate, and with seemingly little left in his tank, Wood saw out the fight with relative ease. 

As the bell tolled, the two men embraced; the mutual respect was clear for all to see. Wood, donning the sombrero Lara had gifted him in the aftermath of their first encounter, waited patiently before his hand was raised. A unanimous victory, with scores of 118-109 (twice) and 116-111, saw Wood recapture his belt and set up a possible showdown with Josh Warrington or a unification fight with Luis Alberto Lopez, who retained his IBF strap with a knockout victory over Mick Conlan in Belfast. Wood admitted he probably only has two fights left, so hopefully, Eddie Hearn can deliver him one of those opponents at his beloved City Ground. 

At the top of the undercard, Jack Catterall made his long-awaited return to action following his controversial defeat to Josh Taylor fifteen months earlier. Facing off against Darragh Foley, there was no sign of ring rust as Catterall set about his business, sitting behind an exceptional jab that landed at will. 

Foley was gutsy and kept coming forward throughout, but Catterall was out to prove a point, and he did it in style. A left hand put Foley down on one knee in round seven, but before Howard Foster could interject, another left landed from Catterall, which saw the Chorley man deducted a point, prior to the mandatory eight count commencing. A further left hand sent Foley down again in round nine, and while he recovered to hear the final bell, it was a wide victory for Catterall, who won with scores of 99-88, 98-89 and 97-90.

Terri Harper shook off the disappointment of her cancelled fight with Cecilia Braekhus last weekend to defeat Ivana Habazin over ten rounds. It was a flat performance from the WBA champion, which is perhaps understandable given the disruption of last week. She had moments of success but was also caught on far too many occasions by Habazin, who can count herself unlucky to lose by such a wide margin, with scores of 98-92, 97-93 (x2). Post-fight, talk again turned to a rematch and undisputed clash with Natasha Jonas. That’s unlikely, and perhaps a fight with Chantelle Cameron, who watched on from ringside, could be a more viable option. 

In a showdown for the vacant English welterweight title, Danny Ball outclassed Jamie Robinson to walk out with the belt. Robinson was down in round two and never really recovered as Ball took control. At the end of the eighth round, Robinsons’ corner had seen enough and pulled their man out; the right decision and one which could have come earlier. 

Aqib Fiaz, who was cheered on by a healthy contingent of supporters, recovered from a sixth-round knockdown to defeat Costin Ion over eight rounds and extend his unbeaten run to twelve fights. 

Campbell Hatton also moved to 12-0 with a victory over Michal Bulik, stopping his opponent in round five with the Polish fighter unsteady on his feet after two consecutive shots from Hatton, replays showing the first appearing to land behind the head. Hatton is showing real signs of improvement and will be hoping to get out again in the months ahead. 

There was a debut victory for Will Crolla, the younger brother of the former world champion, Ant. Will had to recover from a round three knockdown, although it appeared he was caught off-balance and jumped straight back up as his brother and head trainer bemoaned the decision from the corner. It did not matter, though, as the referee scored the fight 39-37 in favour of the man from Manchester. 

In the opening fight of the night, Aaron Bowen was pushed all the way by Aljaz Venko taking a 60-55 decision and moving to 2-0 in the process. 

Photo Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing