Lara v Warrington II preview: Revenge fight headlines mega card in Leeds

Josh Warrington headlines the card in his hometown of Leeds this weekend and is out to avenge the one and only defeat on his record as he takes on Mexican Mauricio Lara for a second time.

After vacating the IBF featherweight title, a month prior to their first fight, Warrington endured a brutal nine rounds with Lara before a second knockdown forced the referee to step in and call off the bout, throwing the Brit’s hopes of securing a second world title before the end of his career in jeopardy.

Saturday night presents an opportunity for Warrington to get his career back on track and it’s arguably a must-win fight for the 30-year-old.

Dangerous Lara can hurt Warrington again

From his 23 wins as a professional, Mauricio Lara has won 69% of those by KO, TKO or retiring his opponent, which should have been a warning for Warrington in their first meeting.

Now there can be no excuses for the man fighting in front of his home crowd, who will be acutely aware of the problems that Lara can cause when throwing power punches, which should mean Warrington will opt for a more cautious approach this time around.

A fighter in every sense of the word, Warrington is susceptible to jumping into the exchanges recklessly, something that has been a feature throughout much of his professional career, but his granite chin helped him through tough moments, most notably highlight scraps with Carl Frampton and Lee Selby.

But he was found wanting when Lara had enough to knock him down twice in their last meeting – the question is, can Warrington keep his cool and let his boxing IQ see him through to the final bell this time around? Should he be able to contain the inner ferocity, his world level pedigree should be enough to get his hand raised on the night.

Despite his superior fight resume, Warrington is only a slight favourite to win the bout on the night at 4/6, with his opponent priced at 6/5 to do the same, while the draw is 18/1.

Lara to win by KO, TKO or DQ, a repeat of the first encounter, is 7/4, whilst Warrington is priced at 9/2 to do the same.

If you fancy another late stoppage, you can get Lara to win in rounds 7-12 at 5/1 and Warrington to do the same at 10/1.

Check out all the latest boxing betting odds at William Hill