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Leigh Wood lost his WBA world featherweight title after being knocked out in the seventh round by Mexico’s Mauricio Lara in Nottingham.
Wood, 31, was ahead on all three judges’ scorecards in the thrilling contest at the Motorpoint Arena, but was dropped by a brilliant left hook and trainer Ben Davison threw in the towel.
Wood suffered a nasty cut near his left eye after an accidental clash of heads late in the first round and boxed well before 24-year-old Lara landed the knockout punch.
Lara landed a booming right hook in the second round, which buckled Woods’ leg, but the champion responded with some big shots of his own in the third.
Wood was hurt again by a right-left combination from the Mexican in the early fourth, but again England dug deep to finish the round strong.
Lara looked hurt from a body shot in the fifth and was caught with another heavy combination before being sent reeling on the ropes in the sixth by a huge right cross from Wood.
But just as many partisans sensed Wood was taking the measure of a dangerous opponent, Lara, who inflicted the first defeat of his career on the former IBF featherweight world champion Josh Warrington, connected with a stunning left hook.
Wood beat the count but clearly on shaky legs and corner threw in the towel.
He won the belt with a final round stoppage of China’s Xu Can in 2021 and repeated that feat against Michael Conlan last March in The Ring magazine’s fight of the year.
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