Mauricio Lara to make return, could face Martinez vs Warrington winner
- Joe Hewlett
- 18 January 2022
Mauricio Lara will look to return to the world title frame and potentially set up a fight against the winner of Kiko Martinez vs Josh Warrington.
Mauricio Lara will return to the ring for the first time since his nasty cut ended a highly-anticipated rematch against Josh Warrington.
The Mexican delivered one of the biggest upsets in 2021 on his UK debut in March when he stopped Warrington in the ninth round.
Lara returned to the UK in September but the fight was halted following a clash of heads in round two. The 23-year-old suffered a nasty gash over his left eye, forcing the bout to be waved off.
In a speedy recovery, Lara has healed up and will look to get back into the mix for major bouts and world title action at featherweight - and the first man in the way of his path to the top table is Emilio Sanchez (19-1 12 KOs).
The 27-year-old Californian will be looking to provide an upset of his own in the biggest fight of his eight-year career to date, with Sanchez fighting over ten rounds for the second time in his career.
He enters the fight on the back of his 12th KO win back in May over the experienced Christian Esquivel.
Warrington is set to return to action himself after bagging a shock world title shot at Kiko Martinez. The pair are set to fight on March 26 for in a rematch for the IBF title.
Should Warrington defeat the Spaniard once again, he will become a two-time world champion and be in line to face Lara once again in a trilogy bout.
Estrada vs Chocolatito undercard
There's a stacked card in support of the trilogy clash between Estrada and Chocolatito - with the focus on Eddie Hearn's bright young talents and an exciting debutant.
Angel Fierro is eager to gatecrash the party at the top of the lightweight division, and the WBO number four will display his credentials in the second defence of his WBO NABO title against Juan Carlos Burgos.
Fierro (19-1-1 15 KOs) picked up the vacant title with a stunning KO win over Alberto Machado in March - climbing off the deck in the first and second rounds to put the former world ruler away in the sixth.
The 23-year-old San Diego based Mexican blasted Cristian Bielma away in four rounds in his first defence in Puerto Vallarta in November, and will be looking to make a similar statement against the experienced former World title challenger Burgos (34-6-2 21 KOs).
Diego Pacheco (13-0 10 KOs) fights in the paid ranks for the 14th time and the rangy super middleweight tastes eight round action for the fourth time against Genc Pllana (9-3-1 5 KOs).
Marc Castro (5-5 5 KOs) is in his sixth pro fight and has yet to go the full distance, his opponent over six rounds will be named soon.
Anthony Herrera (1-0 1 KO) made an explosive start to the pro game with a second round KO win on the undercard of the Teofimo Lopez vs. George Kambosos Jr blockbuster in New York in November, and the 21-year-old former Team USA talent goes for the second time in San Diego against an opponent to be named.
Debutant Skye Nicolson completes the card, and the Australian star will make her long-anticipated debut at featherweight in California.
The 26-year-old won Commonwealth Games gold at her home games in 2016 and represented Australia at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, and now looks to translate her amateur success into the paid ranks.
"This is a great night of boxing with a stacked undercard beneath a brilliant main event," said promoter Eddie Hearn.
"You have so many fighters on this card that can become big stars in the future. Mauricio recorded one of the upsets of 2021 against Josh and is looking to cement his name as a real contender at featherweight.
"There's some exciting young stars in action on the rest of the card. Angel [Fierrois] chasing down his fellow contenders and champions at lightweight. Diego [Pacheco] is such a handful and is ready to step up this year, Marc [Castro] has blasted every opponent away to date.
"Anthony [Herrera] looked the business on his debut and Skye [Nicolson] is going to be a big hit in the paid ranks - March 5 is going to be a spectacular night of action from start to finish."
