Leigh Wood will try to regain the WBA featherweight title on Saturday – just not from Mauricio Lara as planned.

Lara beat Wood to win the belt in the latter’s hometown of Nottingham in February, stopping the Briton in a controversial seventh-round finish. However, the Mexican was stripped of the title on Friday (26 May) after failing to make weight for the rematch in Manchester, meaning the gold is now vacant. Furthermore, only Wood is eligible to win the title on Saturday.

The British Boxing Board of Control prevented Lara from weighing in at less than 128.5lbs, after a mid-week check suggested that he would not ‘safely’ make the 126lbs limit.

Therefore, Wood, 34, will be giving up a size advantage to Lara, 25, which may make the Mexican even more dangerous than he was in February, when he knocked down “Leigh-thal” late in Round 7. Although Wood beat the referee’s count, his corner controversially threw in the towel with six seconds left in the frame.

Here’s all you need to know about the rematch. We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

When is it?

The fight will take place at the AO Arena in Manchester on Saturday 27 May.

The main card is set to begin at 7pm BST (11am PT, 1pm CT, 2pm ET), with ring walks for the main event expected at approximately 10pm BST (3pm PT, 5pm CT, 6pm ET).

How can I watch it?

The event will be streamed live on Dazn, a subscription to which is available at three different price points: Monthly Saver (£9.99 per month, with a 12-month commitment), Flexible (£19.99 per month, and can be cancelled at any time), and Annual Super Saver (£99.99 as a one-off payment).

Odds

Lara – 4/11

Wood – 11/5

Draw – 14/1

Full odds via Betway.

Full card (subject to change)

Mauricio Lara (C) vs Leigh Wood 2 (WBA featherweight title)

Jack Catterall vs Darragh Foley (super-lightweight)

Terri Harper (C) vs Ivana Habazin (WBA women’s super-welterweight title)

Danny Ball vs Jamie Robinson for (vacant English welterweight title)

Aqib Fiaz vs Costin Ion (super-featherweight)

Campbell Hatton vs Michal Bulak (super-lightweight)

William Crolla vs TBA

Aaron Bowen vs TBA

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