Mauricio Lara vs. Leigh Wooden II highlights busy weekend

FIGHT WEEK

Mauricio Lara will defend his 126-pound title in opposition to Leigh Wooden on Saturday in a rematch of their February bout, which Lara gained by KO. Luis Alberto Lopez vs. Michael Conlan and Alexis Rocha vs. Anthony Younger are also on faucet.

MAURICIO LARA (26-2-1, 19 KOS)
VS. LEIGH WOOD (26-3, 16 KOS)

• When: Saturday, Might 27
• Time: 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT (fundamental occasion later in present)
• The place: AO Enviornment, Manchester, England
• TV/Stream: DAZN
• Division: Featherweight (126 kilos)
• At stake: Lara’s WBA title
• Pound-for-pound rating: None
• Odds: Lara 2½-1 favourite (common of a number of retailers)
• Additionally on the cardboard: Jack Catterall vs. Darragh Foley, junior welterweights; Terri Harper vs. Ivana Habazin, junior middleweights (for Harper’s WBA title); Danny Ball vs. Jamie Robinson, welterweights
• Prediction: Lara KO 5
• Background: Lara has grow to be a Brit killer. The 25-year-old Mexican knocked out Josh Warrington in 2021 in London to burst upon the boxing scene, after which the 2 fought to technical draw when Lara suffered a foul minimize. That led to a shot at Wooden’s title in February, when Lara stopped Wooden with a monstrous left hook within the seventh spherical of a struggle the loser was successful on the playing cards. Wooden will get a second probability on Saturday. The 34-year-old from Nottingham delivered the efficiency of his profession in March of final 12 months, placing Michael Conlan by the ropes for a spectacular 12^th-round knockout in protection of his belt. And he did effectively in opposition to Lara despite the fact that he was minimize within the opening spherical. Nevertheless, a left hook to Wooden’s chin put him down and damage him badly. He was capable of rise up on unsteady legs however his coach threw within the towel.

LUIS ALBERTO LOPEZ (27-2, 15 KOS)
VS. MICHAEL CONLAN (18-1, 9 KOS)

• When: Saturday, Might 27
• Time: 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT (fundamental occasion later in present)
• The place: SSE Enviornment, Belfast, Northern Eire
• TV/Stream: ESPN+
• Division: Featherweight (126 kilos)
• At stake: Lopez’s IBF title
• Pound-for-pound rating: None
• Odds: Even (common of a number of retailers)
• Additionally on the cardboard: Anthony Cacace vs. Damian Wrzesinski, junior lightweights; Nick Ball vs. Ludumo Lamati, featherweights; Pierce O’Leary vs. Alin Florin Ciorceri, junior welterweights
• Prediction: Lopez SD
• Background: Lopez is coming off a break-through victory, withstanding a late rally by Josh Warrington to win a majority resolution and his first main title final December in England. The 29-year-old Mexican, a skillful boxer-puncher, has gained 10 consecutive fights (seven by knockout) since he was outpointed by Ruben Villa in Might 2019. Conlan, a 31-year-old Irishman, bounced again from his knockout loss to Leigh Wooden in March of final 12 months by outpointing Miguel Marriaga in August and stopping Karim Guerfi within the first spherical in December. The 2012 Olympic bronze medalist and a participant within the 2016 Video games is a cultured boxer however has but to determine himself as a top-tier champion.

ALEXIS ROCHA (22-1, 14 KOS)
VS. ANTHONY YOUNG (24-2, 8 KOS)

• When: Saturday, Might 27
• Time: 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT (fundamental occasion later in present)
• The place: Fantasy Springs, Indio, California
• TV/Stream: DAZN
• Division: Welterweight (147 kilos)
• At stake: No main titles
• Pound-for-pound rating: None
• Odds: NA
• Additionally on the cardboard: Melvin Jerusalem vs. Oscar Collazo, strawweights (for Jerusalem’s WBO title); Oscar Duarte vs. D’Angelo Keyes, lightweights; John Ramirez vs. Fernando Diaz, junior bantamweights
• Prediction: Rocha UD
• Background: Rocha has established himself as a legit 147-pound contender by successful seven consecutive fights since he was outpointed by slick Rashidi Ellis in October 2020. The 25-year-old from the Los Angeles space is ranked No. 1 by the WBO, under solely champion and pound-for-pounder Terence Crawford. Younger is a skillful technician from Atlantic Metropolis, New Jersey. The 35-year-old hasn’t misplaced a struggle since 2016. His largest victory was a third-round knockout of former 154-pound titleholder Sadam Ali in Might 2019, Ali’s final struggle. Rocha shall be his hardest opponent since that struggle. Younger is ranked No. 8 by the WBO.

ALSO FIGHTING THIS WEEK

FRIDAY

• Kevin Hayler Brown vs. Julian Smith, junior welterweights, Orlando, Florida (DAZN)

SATURDAY

• Lawrence Okolie vs. Chris Billam-Smith, cruiserweights (for Okolie’s WBO title), Bournemouth, England (no TV in U.S.)
• Sukhdeep Singh Bhatti vs. Sagar Narwat, junior middleweights, Brampton, Canada (DAZN)
• Lani Daniels vs. Alrie Meleisea, heavyweights (for vacant IBF title), North Shore, New Zealand (FITE)