Leigh Wood Aiming To Halt The Mexican Raid
This weekend sees a match-up that guarantees pure entertainment. Pure entertainment in a sense that punches will be thrown, and someone will get hurt. It sounds brutal, but welcome to boxing.
Leigh Wood knows he is walking towards the fire this weekend. Mauricio Lara epitomises everything a Mexican fighter is about - he’s high action, he’s aggressive, and he carries dynamite in both hands.
But Wood has never walked the simple road. Since his Commonwealth title win at the start of 2019, he has been thrusted into 50/50 fights with a risk vs reward that meant either champion status or obscurity.
Of course, it was to be champion status. There was once a blip in the road, as Jazza Dickens denied him a shot at the inaugural Golden Contract.
Now he stands in front of a cold-hearted killer, ready to cement himself as the division’s supremo.
Lara’s history on these shores is a sore subject. His brutal victory over Josh Warrington behind closed doors stands as a steady reminder of his savagery. It was a win that left scars even Warrington himself admits are still there.
That Mexican barbarism would strike fear into even the bravest of men. It didn’t for Josh, and he paid the price. Wood now must navigate what will be a treacherous opening period and throw back with intent if he is to walk away on Saturday with that belt.
I was ringside in San Diego as Mauricio smashed Emilio Sanchez to pieces in three rounds -yet he left the ring blowing from a tank that was running on empty. He is like a bull to a red cloth. Time doesn’t matter when he sees his enemy.
So that is why Leigh must stay alert, and manoeuvre around a ring that Mauricio will make a bull pit of his own. The hometown hero will get his raucous reception, but the crowd don’t fight the fight.
Digging in your heels from minute one could spell disaster.
This could well be one of the most complex gameplans that Ben Davison and team have engineered. Yet it could also be one of the simplest. There lies the intrigue.
So, when the first bell rings in Nottingham this weekend, and both Leigh Wood and Mauricio Lara ready themselves to engage in what will almost certainly be unadulterated carnage…
… get ready for the spectacular.
Oscar Bevis