Boxing expert Peter Morris has 2 tips for this weekends action, including a tip on Warrington v Lara.
- Warrington is at a best price of 1/18 to beat Lara.
- Most bookmakers are leaning towards a Mauricio Lara to be knocked out on Saturday, with best odds of 1/5.
22:30 Saturday - Josh Warrington vs Mauricio Lara
On Saturday evening Leeds’s featherweight IBF world champion Josh Warrington takes on Mexican Mauricio Lara at the SSE Arena in Wembley. Warrington was seeking a big unification fight but after a fight against the WBA Champion Can Xu fell through, a late switch to fighting the Mexican opponent meant the big unification fight is still just out of reach.
The Mexican is young at 22 and has already lost twice but he clearly has a bit of power, stopping 14 opponents on the way to his 21 wins. Warrington in comparison has stopped 7 of his 30 opponents. Whilst little is known of Lara over here in the UK, his level of opposition and two defeats suggest he really has no business in the ring with the IBF world champion. The bookies certainly agree, with Josh Warrington's best price 1/18 whilst Lara is a big underdog at 33/1.
For a long time Warrington was described as a boxer who didn’t carry a lot of power. His record is light on stoppage wins and he didn’t seem to really hurt many of his opponents. Recently things have changed. He started fast and hurt Lee Selby early when he defeated him for the IBF title back in 2018 and also hurt Carl Frampton in what is to date Warrington’s best performance. Since then Frampton has been very open about the Warrington fight, stating that the Yorkshireman actually hits very hard. It seems Warrington’s power, rather than being non-existent, is just a well-kept secret.
Follow @TheClinchBoxingFighting against a young, inexperienced Mexican, who has never been near this level of competition, it’s hard not see Warrington getting to him and putting him away. Warrington’s style is all about applying pressure and throwing lots shots from the start, so in a 10 rounder like this, with fewer rounds Warrington can be more comfortable putting his foot on the gas a little earlier. Warrington to win in first half of the fight (rounds 1-5) is 7/4 with Sky Bet.
Elsewhere on the card, Leigh Wood & Reece Mould fight for the British title. Wood is a far more accomplished and experienced boxer than his opponent Mould and should have enough to out point Warrington’s stablemate.
