Mauricio Lara Acosta (born 23 February 1998) is a Mexican professional boxer. He held the WBA featherweight title in 2023.

Professional career

Lara vs. Warrington In his toughest test to date, Lara faced undefeated former IBF featherweight champion Josh Warrington on 13 February 2021 at the SSE Arena in London. No title was on the line as Warrington had vacated his IBF featherweight title a month prior.

Warrington had started off the fight slower than usual, and in the fourth round, Lara hurt him with a left hook before knocking his opponent down. Despite getting up, Warrington never regained his legs, though he was able to land a few effective combinations on Lara in the subsequent rounds. In the ninth round, Lara once again knocked his opponent down with a left hook, and the fight was immediately called off by the referee, handing Warrington his first career loss, breaking Warrington's 30-0 unbeaten streak. Lara's victory was considered a major upset, as he had been rated as an 11/1 (+1100) pre-fight underdog, compared to Warrington having been rated as the 1/33 (-3300) betting favorite. The Ring magazine opined that the result was an early candidate for its Upset of the Year award.

Lara vs. Warrington II It was announced on 14 July 2021 that Lara and Warrington would face each other in a rematch on 4 September at Headingley Stadium in Warrington's hometown of Leeds, England. Lara expressed excitement about the prospect of potentially handing Warrington another defeat, saying, “I’ve never been much of a talker, I’d rather do my talking in the ring. I’m going for a repeat performance on September 4. Hit once, hit twice. Warrington should know that I am coming for him. This is all about pride. This is for Mexico!” The fight ended in a technical draw after 2 rounds, after Lara was badly cut above his left eye due to a head clash.

Lara vs. Wood

On 24 August 2022 was announced that Leigh Wood would make his second WBA (Regular) title defence against Lara. The title bout was expected to headline a DAZN broadcast card, which would have taken place at the Motorpoint Arena Nottingham in Nottingham, England on 24 September 2022. However Leigh Wood withdrew from the fight ten days before it was supposed to take place, due to a torn biceps suffered in sparring.

Lara was once again booked for WBA featherweight title fight against Leigh Wood. The fight took place on 18 February 2023. Mauricio Lara knocked down the champion with a left hook near the end of the seventh round, and Wood's trainer decided to throw in the towel. Lara became WBA featherweight champion.

Lara vs. Wood II Lara was expected to defend the WBA featherweight title against Wood in the Manchester Arena, on May 27, 2023. Lara missed weight by 3.8 lbs at the official weigh-ins and was stripped of the belt, leaving only Wood eligible to win the vacant championship. On May 27, Lara lost to Wood via unanimous decision, with two scorecards of 118–109 and one scorecard of 116–111.

Lara vs. Lugo On February 16, 2024 in Oaxaca, Mexico, Lara was scheduled to face Daniel Lugo in a 10-round bout at featherweight. The fight ended in a majority draw.

Lara vs. Davila Lara is scheduled to face Edwing Davila in a 10-round super featherweight bout in Mexico City, Mexico on January 31, 2025.

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes36WinCarlos OrnelasTKO2 (10), 29 Aug 202635Win30–3–2Rafael Rosas RamirezTKO2 (10), 7 Mar 202634Win29–3–2Miguel RománTKO1 (10), 18 Oct 202533Win28–3–2Edwing DavilaTKO8 (10), 31 Jan 202532Win27–3–2Pedro DelgadoTKO7 (10), 30 Aug 202431Draw26–3–2Daniel LugoMD1016 Feb 202430Loss26–3–1Leigh WoodUD1227 May 202329Win26–2–1Leigh WoodTKO7 (12), 18 Feb 202328Win25–2–1José SanmartinTKO3 (10), 22 Oct 202227Win24–2–1Emilio SanchezKO3 (10), 5 Mar 202226Draw23–2–1Josh Warrington2 (12), 4 Sep 202125Win23–2Josh WarringtonTKO9 (12), 13 Feb 202124Win22–2Sergio PuenteUD104 Dec 202023Win21–2Jesus QuijadaTKO8 (10), 21 Aug 202022Win20–2Alejandro PalmeroTKO1 (10), 4 Jul 202021Win19–2Alejandro PalmeroTKO4 (8), 1 Feb 202020Win18–2Rafael Sanchez RodriguezKO4 (8), 7 Dec 201919Win17–2Eduardo EstelaTKO8 (10),28 Sep 201918Win16–2Oscar BarajasRTD5 (8), 6 Jul 201917Win15–2Guillermo AvilaTKO2 (8), 23 Mar 201916Win14–2Jose CalyecacUD812 Jan 201915Win13–2Alberto Luna GaliciaTKO6 (8), 17 Nov 201814Win12–2Sergio Alfredo Chirino Sanchez2 (8), 25 Aug 201813Loss11–2Eliot ChávezKO1 (6), 19 May 201812Win11–1Daniel ColulaTKO1 (6), 10 Mar 201811Win10–1Israel RoblesUD620 Jan 201810Win9–1Luis Gerardo Perez Salas1 (6), 25 Nov 20179Win8–1Erick Andrés CruzTKO4 (6), 8 Jul 20178Win7–1Eduardo BaezUD61 Apr 20177Win6–1Martin Jimenez DelgadoUD421 Jan 20176Win5–1Israel Rodriguez PicazoSD414 Dec 20165Win4–1Julio Cesar Olvera RodriguezTKO2 (4), 26 Nov 20164Win3–1Joel CordovaTKO4 (4), 5 Nov 20163Win2–1Daniel Carrillo2 (4), 17 Sep 20162Win1–1Rogelio Perez Marquez48 Jul 20161Loss0–1Julio Carabino410 Oct 2015

See also List of Mexican boxing world champions List of world featherweight boxing champions List of WBA world champions

References

External links