Josh Warrington will be looking to harness the power of the Headingley crowd this evening as he attempts to avenge his February defeat to Mexican boxer Mauricio Lara.
The man from Leeds had been on a mission to clean out the featherweight division, but after vacating his IBF world title belt last year, Warrington suffered a shock loss to underdog Lara in a stay busy fight.
Six months later, the pair meet again, in what is quite simply a must-win fight for Warrington. Whether his first career defeat, after 30 professional wins, was down to rustiness, or simply getting beaten by the better man will soon be revealed.
Crucially, however, this time around the 30-year-old will have over 20,000 home supporters cheering him on, a stark difference compared to his last meeting against Lara, which was in front of an empty Wembley Arena. Future world title shots await the winner of this fascinating match up, which would be an altogether new experience for Lara, should the 23-year-old Mexican dispatch of Warrington once again. He has just two defeats to his name, coming very early on his career, so do not expect this to be an easy night’s work for the hometown hero.
Follow live updates below, plus undercard results with a series of mouthwatering fights to build up to the main event:
