SAN DIEGO – Mauricio ‘Bronco’ Lara enjoyed a taste of the support he can expect in attendance for his U.S. debut.

The streaking featherweight contender from Mexico City returns to a North American ring for the first time in more than a year, as he faces North Hollywood’s Emilio Sanchez (19-1, 12KOs) in a scheduled ten-round bout this Saturday at Pechanga Arena in San Diego. Lara’s time on the road was well spent, having dealt the first career defeat to former IBF featherweight titlist Josh Warrington with an upset ninth-round knockout last February in London. The rematch last September 4 ended on a cut after just two rounds, though with Lara more than holding his own in Warrington’s hometown of Leeds, England.

The two fights saw a considerable career boost, though the next step—if not a title shot—was for a fight where he could hear cheers instead of jeers.

“I missed my fans,” Lara told BoxingScene.com. “My last two fights took place in England. I’m so excited to be here, where my fans can travel across the border.

“This is actually my first fight in the U.S. but I expect a lot of Mexican fans to be in attendance on Saturday.”

An estimated crowd of 8,000 is expected to cram the floor and lower bowl of the intimate Pechanga Arena, an overwhelming majority of which will be Mexican and Mexican-American fans in attendance. Lara (23-2-1, 16KOs) hasn’t enjoyed home crowd support since February 2020, having since fought three times behind closed doors in Mexico before traveling to jolly old England where he emerged as a top featherweight contender.

The rematch with Warrington was Lara’s first with a crowd of any kind since the pandemic, though with very little support in his opponent’s backyard. The pre-fight weigh-in ahead of Saturday’s fight saw a massive support system on hand for Lara, who can’t wait to feel the full effect on fight night.

“Fighting in front of 22,000 of Josh Warrington’s fans was a different experience, though we didn’t have a chance for anything to happen since it ended so early,” notes Lara. “To be fighting in front of MY fans, I’m so happy and I am expecting an intense atmosphere in San Diego.”

Lara-Sanchez serves as the co-feature to a 12-round junior bantamweight clash between former four-division champion Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez (50-3, 41KOs) and Mexico City’s Julio Cesar Martinez (18-1, 14KOs; 2ND), whose WBC flyweight title is not at stake in the DAZN-streamed main event.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox