Leigh Wood is now the only main event fighter eligible to fight for his old title.
Rumors of weight struggles for Mauricio Lara were confirmed prior to the start of Friday’s official pre-fight weigh-in. A weight check during fight week prompted the British Boxing Board of Control to deem it unsafe for Lara to attempt to make the 126-pound featherweight limit on Friday.
The BBBofC set a minimum limit of 128 ½ pounds for which Lara could step on the scale. The development will likely result in his being stripped of the WBA featherweight title. Lara was stripped down to his birthday suit as he officially weighed 129.8 pounds.
The WBA featherweight title is at stake for Nottingham’s Wood, who was 125.9 pounds. For now, the main event moves forward atop a DAZN show from AO Arena in Manchester, England. Understandably, concerns were raised by Wood's team.
"Realistically, this shouldn’t be happening, should it," Ben Davison, Wood's trainer, told DAZN's Chris Lloyd and Darren Barker immediately after the weigh-in. "It’s a disgrace, to be honest.
"Nothing against Mauricio Lara and their whole team, they were respectful throughout. But it’s in absolute shambles."
A win by Wood renders it a moot point, while any other outcome will result in the title being declared vacant.
"Mauricio Lara lost the World Boxing Association (WBA) featherweight belt after not being able to make weight today," WBA president Gilberto Jesus Mendoza confirmed after the weigh-in. "However, Leigh Wood will be able to opt for the title."
Lara (26-2-1, 19KOs) claimed the belt in a come-from-behind, seventh-round stoppage of Wood (26-3, 16KOs) on February 18 at Motorpoint Arena in Wood’s hometown of Nottingham, England. Wood attempted his first defense after the WBA upgraded the 34-year-old Englishman to full titlist from his prior WBA ‘Regular’ title status.
DAZN Main Undercard, 2:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. local time
Jack Catterall (26-1, 13KOs), Chorley, Lancashire, 139.9 pounds vs. Darragh Foley (22-4-1, 10KOs), Bondi, Australia via Kent, 139 ½ pounds—10 rounds, junior welterweight
Terri Harper (13-1-1, 6KOs), Denaby Main, Yorkshire, 150.3 pounds. vs. Ivana Habazin (21-4, 7KOs), Zlatar, Croatia, 152.4 pounds—10 rounds, for Harper’s WBA junior middleweight title
Aqib Fiaz (11-0, 1KO), Oldham, Lancashire, 132.1 pounds vs. Costin Ion (10-3-2, 5KOs), Bucharest, Romania, 132.2 pounds—8 rounds, junior lightweight
Danny Ball (12-1-1, 5KOs), Kingswinford, West Midlands, 146 ½ pounds vs. Jamie Robinson (15-5-2, 4KOs), Bolsover, Derbyshire, 146.8 pounds—10 rounds, welterweight
DAZN/Matchroom YouTube ‘Before The Bell’, 12:15 p.m. E.T./5:15 p.m. local time
William Crolla (pro debut), Manchester, 156.6 pounds vs. Joe Hardy (2-9, 0KOs), Leeds, 158.3 pounds—5 rounds, junior middleweight
Campbell Hatton (11-0, 4KOs), Hyde, Lancashire, 141.9 pounds vs. Michal Bulik (6-2, 2KOs), Opole, Poland, 138.6 pounds—8 rounds, junior welterweight
Aaron Bowen (1-0, 1KO), Coventry, West Midlands, 163.6 pounds vs. Aljaz Venko (5-3-1, 2KOs), Slovenska, Slovenia, 161.1 pounds—6 rounds, middleweight
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
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