Two-time Josh Warrington foe has ring return officially revealed.
At one point, Josh Warrington was the best featherweight boxer in the world. Having won the IBF title and beaten names such as Carl Frampton, Lee Selby, and Kid Galahad, he had won all 30 of his fights and didn’t seem to be slowing down.
Only, he would then be out of the ring for all of 2020, and he would return in early 2021 against Mauricio Lara, a practically unknown 22-year-old Mexican who had only fought outside of his home country once.
Due to Warrington vacating his title before the fight, there was no belt on the line. But champion or not, he was a massive favourite to defeat Lara handily.
As we all know by now, that didn’t happen. Instead, Warrington was dropped and stopped in nine rounds, suffering his first defeat in a massive upset. They would rematch, but it would end in a disappointing technical draw.
Now considered a boogeyman, Lara pulled off two more wins before challenging WBA featherweight champion Leigh Wood, another Briton with a big fanbase.
After a hard battle, Lara would ultimately win by a disputed stoppage to become world champion. However, for his rematch with Wood, he was stripped of his title on the scales for coming in overweight, then was conclusively outboxed over the distance.
Since moving up to super-featherweight, Lara has gone 4-0-1, with each win coming by knockout. Having had his last bout in March, his next appearance has now officially been announced.
Lara (30-3-2, 23 KOs) will be returning against Carlos Ornelas (29-5, 16 KOs), a fellow Mexican who has previously fought current WBO featherweight champion Rafael Espinoza and current WBO lightweight champion Abdullah Mason.
They will be throwing down on the 29th of August at the Complejo Deportivo de Artes Marciales (CDAM) in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.
Bronco returns 🐎
Former World Champion Mauricio Lara faces fellow Mexican Carlos Ornelas in Guadalajara on Aug 29 🇲🇽
One month to go! 🔜 #LaraOrnelas @DAZNBoxing pic.twitter.com/g9tqdrdGTY
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) July 29, 2026
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