In his toughest test to date, Lara faced undefeated former IBF featherweight champion Josh Warrington on 13 February 2021 at the SSE Arena in London. No title was on the line as Warrington had vacated his IBF featherweight title a month prior.[3]
Warrington had started off the fight slower than usual, and in the fourth round, Lara hurt him with a left hook before knocking his opponent down. Despite getting up, Warrington never regained his legs, though he was able to land a few effective combinations on Lara in the subsequent rounds. In the ninth round, Lara once again knocked his opponent down with a left hook, and the fight was immediately called off by the referee, handing Warrington his first career loss, breaking Warrington's 30-0 unbeaten streak.[4] Lara's victory was considered a major upset, as he had been rated as an 11/1 (+1100) pre-fight underdog, compared to Warrington having been rated as the 1/33 (-3300) betting favorite.[5]The Ring magazine opined that the result was an early candidate for its Upset of the Year award.[6]
Lara vs. Warrington II
It was announced on 14 July 2021 that Lara and Warrington would face each other in a rematch on 4 September at Headingley Stadium in Warrington's hometown of Leeds, England. Lara expressed excitement about the prospect of potentially handing Warrington another defeat, saying, “I’ve never been much of a talker, I’d rather do my talking in the ring. I’m going for a repeat performance on September 4. Hit once, hit twice. Warrington should know that I am coming for him. This is all about pride. This is for Mexico!”[7] The fight ended in a technical draw after 2 rounds, after Lara was badly cut above his left eye due to a head clash.[8]
On 24 August 2022 was announced that Leigh Wood would make his second WBA (Regular) title defence against Lara. The title bout was expected to headline a DAZN broadcast card, which would have taken place at the Motorpoint Arena Nottingham in Nottingham, England on 24 September 2022.[9] However Leigh Wood withdrew from the fight ten days before it was supposed to take place, due to a torn biceps suffered in sparring.[10]
Lara was once again booked for WBA featherweight title fight against Leigh Wood.[11] The fight took place on 18 February 2023. Mauricio Lara knocked down the champion with a left hook near the end of the seventh round, and Wood's trainer decided to throw in the towel. Lara became WBA featherweight champion.[12]
Lara was expected to defend the WBA featherweight title against Wood in the Manchester Arena, on May 27, 2023.[13] Lara missed weight by 3.8 lbs at the official weigh-ins and was stripped of the belt, leaving only Wood eligible to win the vacant championship.[14] On May 27, Lara lost to Wood via unanimous decision, with two scorecards of 118–109 and one scorecard of 116–111.[15]
Lara vs. Lugo
On February 16, 2024 in Oaxaca, Mexico, Lara was scheduled to face Daniel Lugo in a 10-round bout at featherweight.[16]
