Last night in Ciudad, Mexico, in a fight that fell largely under the radar, former WBA featherweight champ Mauricio Lara iced fellow Mexican Miguel Roman inside a round in a bout that was contested at 130 pounds.
Roman’s Final Stand Ends Early
Lara, coming out fast, dropped Roman with a sharp right hand. Roman got up quickly, but a series of hard left hooks then drilled him, the final shot forcing the referee to dive in and save 39-year-old Roman from taking any further punishment. It was all over with a little over two minutes gone.
Lara, still only 27 years of age, is now 29-3-2(22). Roman fell to a grizzled 71-15(51), and retirement may be the former three-time world title challenger’s only real option now; and Roman had said when going into last night’s fight that he would indeed call it a career if he lost.
What was expected by most to be a good, back-and-forth all-Mexican battle was instead a fight that was not allowed to get going, and it was Lara’s speed and power that made it an early night. Lara was, as we know, suspended by UKAD for two years after he failed a drugs test following his return fight defeat to Britain’s Leigh Wood. Lara has boxed in Mexico a number of times since the suspension, but he cannot box in the UK again until March of next year.
Can Lara Reclaim His Spotlight?
Who knows, maybe Lara, if he’s given the opportunity some may well say he doesn’t deserve, can go on and fight for another world title down the road. Lara burst onto the world stage when he stopped former IBF featherweight champ Josh Warrington in February of 2021. Then, two years later, Lara returned to the UK to stop Wood from becoming the WBA champ. Wood soundly outpointed an overweight Lara in their rematch.
Lara has now won three and drawn one whilst boxing at home.
