Who is Mauricio Lara?
Facts you need to know about Josh Warrington’s next opponent Mauricio Lara
'Leeds Warrior' Josh Warrington (30-1, 7KOs) was undefeated in 30 fights until disaster struck in the form of an unknown hard-hitting Mexican Mauricio Lara (23-1, 16KOs) last February at Wembley Arena.
Lara stunned the former IBF featherweight champion as well as all the UK fight fans tuning in to watch a routine Warrington win and runied his plans for big unification fights next. Seven months on and the rivals will clash again on September 4, this time at the home of Leeds Rhinos, allowing Josh the home advantage with his passionate fans in the crowd, which he so badly missed last time out behind closed doors.
Lara is still somewhat unknown to many, so BBN decided to find out some little-known facts about the meddling Mexican right here:
Early Life
Mauricio Lara Acosta was born in Mexico City on February 23, 1998, which makes him 23-years-old, a Pisces, and part of Generation Z. When he was born the film 'Titanic' was top of the Box Office, and the soundtrack, 'My Heart Will Go On' by Celine Dion, was topping the charts; Osama Bin Laden was issuing threats to Jewish and Crusaders; and the Angel of the North was unveiled in Gateshead.
Of his upbringing in Mexico City, Lara has said, "It's a hard place. Poor. But the humility and the respect of all the people have made me a great person. I enjoyed my childhood. It was beautiful."
Boxing Beginnings
Mauricio started boxing very young, at just eight-years-old and confesses to hating it at first, claiming that he wasn't disciplined enough. However, his older brother was a national champion and he motivated his sibling to work harder. His older brother is also a pro and actually fights on the same weekend as Mauricio on September 4, but in Mexico City.
Alias
Mauricio is known as 'Bronco' for his ability to hit like a horse.
Team Lara
Mauricio is trained by his father, who is a former pro himself. He didn't want his children to box but when he was asked to take over a friend's gym, he got the 'boxing bug' again and the rest is history. The father and son are very close, his dad stating that his son has become his boxing idol and that he loves him a lot.
The area where he trains is high above sea level and surrounded by hills and nature, meaning he gets plenty of clean fresh air. His place of residence in training camps is very small and he shares a room with his sparring partners in bunk beds! He likes to play the Playstation when resting, but his favourite thing is to look out of a window with his campmates and just sit and chat.
In preparation for Josh Warrington, Lara has sparred with two-weight world champion Emanuel Navarrete (34-1, 29KOs), who is currently WBO World featherweight champion.
He is a father to a young daughter and has great support from his wife, Barbara.
Pro Bow
On his professional debut On October 10, 2015, a young 17-year-old Lara lost on points Julio Carabino (2-2 at the time), although one judge had Lara wining the four-round bantamweight contest 39-38.
His only other defeat in his career was in fight number 13, unlucky for some, to then-5-1-1 Elliot Chavez, where the now-NABF super-featherweight champion knock Lara out in under a minute.
Since that last defeat, Lara has won 12 fights in a row, 10 by stoppage.
Away Days
Lara's clash with Warrington earlier this year was just his second fight abroad. In his 19th fight, he fought outside of his country for the first time when he stopped Uruguayan fighter Eduardo Estela in Argentina in September 2019. Estela was undefeated in 10 bouts until Lara decked him twice in the eighth round of a scheduled 10.
That's two fights overseas and two stoppage wins against unbeaten home fighters… the Mexican clearly travels well.
Rankings
WBC: 4
IBF: 3
WBO: 7
IBO: 1
Ring: 4
TBRB: 2
BoxRec: 3 (MEXICO)
BoxRec: 7 (WORLD)
Stats
Height: 5' 7"
Reach 66.5"
Bouts: 25
Rounds: 110
Wins: 23
KO Ratio: 64%
Losses: 2
Draws: 0
What the fighters are saying about each other:
Mauricio Lara: “Warrington said that I got lucky. Believe me, there’s no luck in boxing. I’ve never won anything with luck. I won with hard work and a lot of discipline. Of course, since I beat him I feel I’m the champion. Like they say in my town, I’m a champion without a crown. It sounds nice and I think I’ve earned it with hard work. I want to be number one in the world and I’m going to achieve that.
I knew I had to win decisively in the first fight. This time it will be different. I’ll win, but you’ll see a totally different Mauricio Lara. I’ll be a different person. I have more drive in this fight because Warrington has been saying a lot of things and he’ll regret it. We think he’s going to be very careful with his face and his jaw so we’ll watch out with his strategy. But believe me, it doesn’t matter what strategy he has because I’m coming to destroy him.
"I’m a very humble person. He won my respect in the first fight because he was number one in the world, but that’s no longer the case. He doesn’t respect me and he has said many things about my dad. He made a mistake, believe me. He met a friendly version of me and look what happened.
"I’m really happy because I know bigger fights are coming, better fighters. It’s great that a promoter like Matchroom believes in me and is giving me that opportunity. I'll fight whoever. I want all the belts at 126lbs and I’m going to get them. On September 4 I’ll be mean and he won’t know what’s hit him.”
Josh Warrington: “It’s been an up and down period, time for reflection and to reassess myself. I’ve watched the first fight a dozen times, I’m mentally and physically prepared for Mauricio. It won’t be the same result, I want revenge. It’s going to be a huge event in Leeds, I can’t wait to get back in there and rewrite the script. It’s nothing personal, just business. September 4th we get back on track to the top.”
Predictions
Ben Day Former Southern Area champion:
"It takes a big person to come back and have a rematch with the person that stopped them. I think he can beat Mauricio with a high work rate."
More predictions HERE
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