NEWS: MAURICIO LARA SAYS LEIGH WOOD IS IN FOR HIS 'WORST NIGHTMARE' ON FEBRUARY 25

By: Jay Calderon 

On February 18 in Nottingham, England, and live on DAZN, Featherweight contender Mauricio Lara will battle world titlist Leigh Wood for his first piece of gold as a professional.

Lara, while heading to his opponent's backyard, is a sizable betting favorite due to his heavy hands and his willingness to dig deep in the trenches when needed. However, unlike his opponent, Lara isn't all that interested in trading verbal barbs.

Wood has been vocal heading into the affair, according to Lara. But Mauricio will look to do his talking inside the squared circle.

"I like that my opponent talks, he will see that it is not good to talk, that it is not good to hallucinate," Lara told BoxingScene.com. "I speak with my fists up in the ring. Wood is a great fighter but he is very talkative. Saying these things to me is his worst mistake, he will even need therapy to recover, I will be the worst nightmare of his life."

The bout looks to be a potential Fight of the Year contender, as both fighters have shown heart and an ability to end fights within the distance they aren't expected to win.

In his most recent encounter, Lara bulldozed Jose Sanmartin in Plaza de Toros, Mexico City, stopping his foe in the third frame of a shoot out back in October. Wood, in the biggest win of his career, stopped Michael Conlan in the final round of action back in March of last year.

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