Thu. Sep 19th, 2024
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Leigh Wood weighs in
Britain’s Leigh Wood is set to fight for the vacant title on Saturday

Mexico’s Mauricio Lara is set to be stripped of his WBA featherweight belt after failing to make the weight for his title fight against Leigh Wood.

Wood made the nine stone limit but his team has cast doubt about the fight taking place on Saturday in Manchester.

Promoter Eddie Hearn has suggested the fight will go ahead but Wood’s trainer, Ben Davison, said: “It’s a discussion I’ve got to have with Leigh.

“I can’t sit here and say we 100% rule out the fight not taking place.”

After a weight check on Wednesday, the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) raised concerns about how heavy the champion was and did not want Lara cutting weight below 9st 2.5lb. He weighed in at 9st 3.8lbs on Friday.

It is likely that the WBA will strip Lara of his title but Wood remains eligible to win the belt he lost to Lara in February.

The Englishman was stopped in the round seven of their first fight.

Meanwhile, Terri Harper’s hastily re-arranged world title defence is on track, after England’s WBA light-middleweight champion made weight for her fight against Croatia’s Ivana Habazin.

Harper fights on the undercard in Manchester, with Jack Catterall’s light-welterweight contest against Darragh Foley the chief support.

Wood is not the only Briton in world title action this weekend, with Lawrence Okolie and Chris Billam-Smith also fighting in Bournemouth.

Bournemouth local Billam-Smith challenges Londoner Okolie for the WBO cruiserweight title at the Vitality Stadium and there was no such weight drama on a sun-drenched Bournemouth Pier.

The former sparring partners weighed the same at 14st 3lbs.

In Belfast, Northern Ireland’s Michael Conlan will weigh-in for his world title tilt against IBF featherweight champion Luis Alberto Lopez on Friday evening.

Former stablemates set for Bournemouth bout

Lawrence Okolie and Chris Billam-Smith pose for the crowd at Friday's weigh-in
Champion Okolie is undefeated in 19 pro bouts, while Billam-Smith has won 17 and lost one

With a stage erected in front of a merry-go-round and helter skelter slide, it was a cordial affair in Bournemouth as both Billam-Smith and Okolie comfortably made weight.

Billam-Smith is trained by Shane McGuigan, who also coached Okolie before they parted ways earlier this year.

The pier was at full capacity as fans of home fighter Billam-Smith mingled amongst those who stumbled across the weigh-in during a day out at the beach.

There was no handshake at the face-to-face. An expressionless Okolie stared into the challenger’s eyes as Billam-Smith smiled back.

Billam-Smith beat Isaac Chamberlain in front of 4,000 fans at Bournemouth International Centre last year. He said fighting at his beloved AFC Bournemouth’s ground, in front of 15,000 will be the “pinnacle” of his career.

“It’s already been such a great event and build-up to be involved in,” he added. “The tickets going crazy, the whole town getting behind me. It’s phenomenal.”

Okolie is competing for the second time in the space of two months. He beat New Zealander’s David Light on points in March and believes the back-to-back camps will work to his advantage.

“I’m in great shape and I need to be in great shape because it’s going to be a tough fight until I’ve got control of it,” he said.

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