Leigh Wood suffered a controversial TKO loss in his hometown clash with Mauricio Lara on Saturday, as the towel came in after a knockdown in the seventh round.
Wood appeared to be leading five rounds to one as the main event crossed its midway point in Nottingham, but Lara produced a brutal left hook almost out of nowhere to floor the WBA featherweight champion late in Round 7. Wood beat the referee’s count, but the 34-year-old’s coach Ben Davison threw in the towel with approximately 10 seconds left in the frame.
Wood was quick to protest his trainer’s decision, while Mexican Lara celebrated his title win across the ring. When asked by DAZN whether he was okay to continue, Wood said: “Yeah, I’m a fighter, you know? I want to go until I can’t see anything anymore. [But with the knockdown], I made a mistake and I paid for it.”
The main event marked Wood’s first bout since his fight-of-the-year contender with Michael Conlan at the same arena in March 2022. That night, Wood recovered from a heavy knockdown at the bell in the first round, going on to knock out Conlan in the final frame.
Re-live updates from Wood vs Lara and the entire undercard in Nottingham.
