Tonight: Wooden Vs. Lara – Reside Outcomes

Leigh Wooden may have his WBA featherweight title on the road tonight in opposition to the hard-hitting challenger Mauricio Lara LIVE on DAZN on the Motorpoint Enviornment in Nottingham, England. The occasion kicks off at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Boxing 247 will give stay updates and outcomes under.

British gentle welterweight champion Dalton Smith (14-0, 10 KOs) labored to a 12 spherical unanimous choice win over Billy Allington (10-2-4, 0 KOs) in a painfully boring combat. The scores had been 120-107, 119-119-108, and 119-108.

Smith stalked Allington all through the combat, knocking him down within the eighth spherical with a left hook, physique slamming him within the tenth, and utilizing a number of roughhouse techniques in frustration at his lack of ability to attain a knockout.

OH MY 🤯@daltonsmith08 picks up Allington above his head and throws him down 😳#WoodLara pic.twitter.com/X4ePehhMQ2

— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) February 18, 2023

Within the tenth spherical, Smith was minimize over his left eye and appeared to lose his mood by throwing Allington to the canvas with a professional wrestling transfer. It’s unclear why the referee didn’t penalize him as a result of Allington’s head bounced off the canvas with the wrestling throw.

Light-weight Gary “The Diva” Cully (16-0, 10 KOs) stayed unbeaten tonight by stopping Wilfredo Flores (10-1-1, 5 KOs) by a second spherical knockout to seize the vacant WBA Intercontinental title.

The 27-year-old Cully twice put Flores down on the seat of his pants within the second spherical, ensuing within the referee stepping in to cease the combat at 1:52 of the spherical.

Cully appears like the actual deal at 135, and he’s able to face the highest tier within the division.

In a one-sided contest, cruiserweight Cheavon Clarke (5-0, 4 KOs) had his method with the heavy-handed journeyman Israel Duffus (20-9, 17 KOs), knocking him down 4 instances en path to a ten spherical unanimous choice.

Clarke pressured Duffus continually, nailing him with large hooks to the pinnacle. Within the sixth, Clarke dropped Duffus two instances and had him on the verge of a knockout. By some means, Duffus, 30, made it out of the spherical.

Within the seventh, Clarke was given credit score for a knockdown on what gave the impression to be a slip by Duffus. Clarke, trying exhausted, took the eighth and ninth rounds off earlier than approaching robust to drop Duffus down within the tenth with the ultimate punch he threw within the spherical.

The scores had been 98-88, 98-88, and 98-90. Clarke’s lack of dimension, protection, and poor work charge might hinder his success at cruiserweight. If potential, he ought to strive dropping to 175, the place he received’t be at such a colossal dimension and energy drawback.

Diego Ruiz (24-6-1, 12 KOs) might have ended the profession of former EBU tremendous bantamweight champion Gamal Yafai (19-3, 11 KOs) tonight, defeating him by a lopsided 10 spherical unanimous choice in a combat that was whole domination by the 28-year-old Argentinian.

Ruiz got here into the combat having misplaced 3 out of his final 4 fights, however he appeared like a champion in opposition to the shell of the 31-year-old Yafai, dropping the Brit 3 times within the bout. Yafai was knocked down in rounds 2, 3 & 10.

Ruiz was by no means capable of pour it on to complete Yafai, nevertheless, as he lacked the talents and the killer intuition to do what a greater fighter would have in the event that they’d been in the identical place.

The scores had been 98-89, 97-90, and 97-91. Yafai made it straightforward for Ruiz with the best way he was standing within the pocket and decreasing his head when he would throw his photographs.

Ruiz took benefit of Yafai’s recklessness by hitting him with completely timed counters all evening. It was a shock that Yafai was solely knocked down 3 times as a result of he was getting hit clear with Ruiz’s counters virtually each time he threw a punch.

For a former newbie star like Yafai, it was shocking at how he would depart himself open so steadily in opposition to a fighter that was primarily a ham & egger introduced in as a gimme for him to return again from his current loss to Jason Cunningham.

Wooden’s coach Ben Davison says he’s created the proper recreation plan to defeat Lara (25-2-1, 18 KOs), and he expects him to be “reckless” early on, which is able to depart him weak.

Apparently, Davison says Michael Conlan was a more difficult combat for Wooden and that Lara is on the identical stage as Kiko Martinez. One will get the sense from listening to Davison discuss that he’s the one which made the choice for Wooden to combat Lara. For his sake, you hope he didn’t make a mistake by selecting Lara.

Full card

Leigh Wooden vs. Mauricio Lara
Dalton Smith vs. Billy Allington
Cheavon Clarke vs. Israel Duffus
Gary Cully vs. Wilfredo Flores
Gamal Yafai vs. Diego Ruiz
Sam Maxwell vs. Shaun Cooper
Kieron Conway vs. Jorge Silva
Junaid Bostan vs. Peter Kramer
Aaron Bowen vs. Mathieu Gomes

Wooden taking dangerous combat

“This combat ticks all of the bins for what Leigh needed,” stated Ben Davison, the coach for WBA featherweight champion Leigh Wooden, to iFL TV about tonight’s combat in opposition to Mauricio Lara.

“Having a recreation plan set out and understanding the best way to create situations which might be going to favor Leigh and the best way to defuse situations that favor Mauricio Lara are what’s going to offer him the combat. Leigh Wooden by stoppage,” stated Davison when requested for a prediction on the Wooden vs. Lara combat tonight.

“I’m assured. Leigh is in a very good place,” stated Davison to iD Boxing. “Yeah, surely. In fact, it’s a really harmful combat. He’s [Lara] a really harmful fighter. We all know he’s going to be harmful early on; we’re absolutely conscious of that, but when he comes out winging, beginning extraordinarily quick, he’s going to depart himself uncovered as nicely as a result of Leigh Wooden is harmful as nicely. Let’s not neglect that.

“I’m not taking something away from Mauricio Lara as a result of he’s a prime, prime fighter, however he received damage by Emilio Sanchez within the second spherical [last year in March 2022] to the pinnacle and physique,” Davison stated about Lara’s combat in opposition to the massive puncher Sanchez.

“He received stopped within the first spherical by Eliot Chavez [in 2018]. Individuals occurring about him [Wood] getting dropped within the first spherical by Michael Conlan [last year in March]. Michael won’t punch as onerous as Lara, however he’s loads smarter, locations his assaults, has much more selection, disguises them nicely, and has a very good coach that may select issues that Mick can exploit in opposition to his opponents.

“All people occurring about Mauricio Lara being the boogeyman of the [featherweight] division. Mick Conlan is a greater and tougher combat than Mauricio Lara,” stated Davison, making it sound like Wooden is going through Conlan tonight moderately than Lara.

Davison: Leigh punches tougher than Lara

“Lara may be extra harmful for a sure interval of a combat, however total, Mick Conlan is a tougher combat [than Mauricio Lara].The explanation we determined to take this combat or select this combat is that the timing of it’s as a result of the Metropolis Floor wasn’t out there due to the soccer season.

“The 2 tickets for the Metropolis Floor are clearly Josh Warrington and Michael Conlan. These are the 2 tickets. We don’t need to lose one of many two alternatives of going to the Metropolis Floor by taking that combat, and within the combat, it needed to be on the [Motorpoint] Enviornment.

“So Leigh stated, ‘Let’s get the following best choice.’ Mauricio Lara was the following best choice by way of the standard of a fighter and out there purse. Look, they’re all harmful on the world stage; they’re all harmful.

“I assure you should you ask Josh Warrington who hits tougher, Mauricio Lara or Kiko Martinez, I’ll assure you that he’ll say that Kiko Martinez punches tougher. They’re all the chance on the prime stage,” stated Davison.

“It’s insanity individuals speaking about, ‘It’s a harmful combat.’ In fact, it’s [Mauricio Lara] is a harmful combat. It’s world-level boxing. It’s the very best preventing the very best. Everyone seems to be saying that is the #1 within the division.

“So how will you count on to have the #1 within the division and it not being a threat and being harmful? It’s insanity. I feel Leigh will look to create situations that favor him. He’s not going to face there and simply trade with Mauricio Lara. Nicely, hopefully, as a result of that can clearly favor Maurcio Lara.

“I’ve little doubt that Leigh is the larger puncher out of the 2,” stated Davison about his perception that Wooden hits tougher than Lara. “That situation would favor Mauricio Lara. Individuals look again on the Mick Conlan combat. Leigh Wooden wasn’t going to face again and combat off the backfoot in opposition to Michael Conlan.

“Leigh is the final word skilled, and we’ve received a recreation plan in place. I’m assured that Leigh will persist with as a result of he’s the final word skilled and at all times does, and I’m certain we’ll ship that. Yeah,” stated Davison when requested if that recreation plan would result in a knockout for Wooden in opposition to Lara.

“Individuals say, ‘He’s [Wood] going to field.’ You possibly can’t fly across the ring in opposition to Mauricio Lara. You’re going to offer him momentum after momentum after momentum, and the tempo will shoot proper up. Like I stated, Leigh will create situations that can result in Lara being reckless and Leigh with the ability to capitalize on these situations,” stated Davison.