Mauricio Lara V Leigh Wood: Mexican Misses Weight And Is Stripped Of World Title

Leigh Wood kisses his hand as he weighs in

Mexico’s Mauricio Lara has been stripped of his WBA featherweight belt after he was unable to make the weight for his title fight against Leigh Wood.

Wood made the nine-stone limit but his team has cast doubt about the fight taking place on Saturday in Manchester.

Promoter Eddie Hearn has suggested the bout will go ahead, with Wood still eligible to fight for the title.

Wood’s trainer Ben Davison said: “I can’t sit here and say we 100% rule out the fight not taking place.”

After a weight check on Wednesday, the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) raised concerns about how heavy the champion was and did not want Lara cutting weight below 9st 2.5lbs.

It meant Lara had to stop his weight cut and he tipped the scales at 9st 3.8lbs on Friday.

Wood could remain eligible to win the belt he lost to Lara in February if the rematch goes ahead.

The Englishman was stopped in the seventh round of their first fight.

Meanwhile, Terri Harper’s hastily re-arranged world-title defence is on track after England’s WBA light-middleweight champion made weight for her fight against Croatia’s Ivana Habazin.

Harper fights on the undercard in Manchester, with Jack Catterall’s light-welterweight contest against Darragh Foley the chief support.

Wood is not the only Briton in world-title action this weekend, with Lawrence Okolie and Chris Billam-Smith also fighting in Bournemouth.