SAN DIEGO – Mauricio ‘Bronco’ Lara had to do a double take when he saw who jumped the line for a title shot.

The streaking contender from Mexico City made a name for himself after handing the first defeat to former IBF featherweight titlist Josh Warrington (30-1-1, 7KOs) last February on the road at Wembley’s SSE Arena in London. Their rematch took place seven months later in Warrington’s hometown of Leeds, England only lasted two rounds, ending in a technical draw.

However brief and anti-climactic the affair was, it was apparently just enough to put Warrington back in line for a shot at newly crowned IBF featherweight titlist Kiko Martinez on March 26 at First Direct Arena in Leeds, by which time.

“To be honest, it bothered me,” Lara admitted to BoxingScene.com. “When I heard Josh was getting to fight for the title before me, I called Alex (Alejandro Brito, director of operations for BXSTRS Promotions) to find out what was going on.

“But everything happens for a reason. I hope that he wins. I think Josh beats Kiko. Then that belt will belong to me and I will take it home when we meet again. I want Josh Warrington again.  After how the second fight ended and I was passed over for the title, that fight is now personal to me. I just want to rip his head off.”

Not wanting to sit out of the ring any longer than necessary, Lara (23-2-1, 16KOs) agreed to a dangerous showdown with North Hollywood’s Emilio Sanchez (19-1, 12KOs) for the sake of remaining active. The featherweight bout takes place this Saturday on DAZN from Pechanga Arena in San Diego, Lara’s first in the U.S. and third straight outside of his native Mexico.

“We knew it was a dangerous fight to take when we agreed to it,” notes Lara, who is unbeaten in his last thirteen starts. “If we lose, everything we worked so hard for just falls apart. That’s the risk we are willing to take and why we worked so hard to make sure we win on Saturday. Once we win, it has to be a world title fight next.”

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