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Saturday, 18 February 2023

Boxing Picks 2023- Leigh Wood vs Mauricio Lara (February 18th)

Since the last set of Boxing Picks at the beginning of the month we have started to see a Heavyweight April being announced as the likes of Anthony Joshua and Joe Joyce return.

The heavily rumoured Unification between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk has been targeted for the end of that month too, while the DAZN schedule was announced until the end of May and it looks like we are going to have some good cards.

Of course Boxing wouldn't be Boxing if we were still not waiting on some big announcements.

The Heavyweight Unification is one, but we are still waiting to hear if Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia will finally agree to also meet in April. The likes of Errol Spence Jr and Terence Crawford are still waiting, although likely facing other opponents rather than each other, and of course Canelo Alvarez should soon be announcing his May return.

One fight that has seemingly come out of left field is Josh Taylor vs Teofimo Lopez... Eighteen months ago that was a monster fight, but both have lost some of their stardom after controversial wins.

Even then, it is a big fight that could be announced for late May/early June.



Leigh Wood vs Mauricio Lara

There hasn't been the kind of fanfare around this fight that it really deserves, and I really don't think that is fair on Leigh Wood.

After the storming comeback to beat Michael Conlan, Leigh Wood should be given a whole heap of credit for taking this fight as one he has chosen.

And the fact he has suggests the team feel they have seen something to exploit in Mauricio Lara, who is most famous for demolishing Josh Warrington. The Mexican has continued his upward trend after that win and this is an extremely dangerous fighter and not one that would have expected to have been given an opportunity without forcing a mandatory.

Unsurprisingly the Lara camp feel that Leigh Wood and his team have made a massive mistake and I would be extremely disappointed if the styles don't gel.

Both are going to want to land power punches and I really would not be surprised if both fighters hit the deck.

However, I think the pressure that Mauricio Lara will come with is going to prove to be decisive, despite Leigh Wood carrying plenty of power of his own.

The home fighter has that ability to really hurt a wild Lara, but I can't shake how badly Leigh Wood was hurt by Michael Conlan and the Mexican in this one is expected to hit that much harder. If he hits Wood and hurts him like Conlan did, Mauricio Lara has more than enough in his arsenal to make sure the Champion is not able to get out of trouble and I think it will be another disappointing home outing for a British World Champion against Bronco.


In other fights on the card, Dalton Smith should show why there are levels to Boxing as he prepares for the a homecoming in April with a routine win.

Another who should not have to work the distance is Gary Cully who has been put on the card to further enhance his reputation before fighting back at home on the Katie Taylor card in May. He will want to impress his new promoters to show he deserves to be on that card and can beat his unbeaten American opponent.

Cheavon Clarke has yet to be pushed beyond Four Rounds as a professional and I think that may be unlikely on Saturday.

MY PICKS: Mauricio Lara to Win Between 1-6 @ 2.50 Bet365 (2 Units)
Dalton Smith to Win Between 1-4 @ 2.40 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Gary Cully to Win Between 1-5 @ 2.62 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Cheavon Clarke to Win Between 1-4 @ 1.61 Sky Bet (2 Units)

Boxing Update 2023: 2-5, - 5.40 Units (13 Units Staked, - 41.54% Yield)

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