Comments Thread For: Leigh Wood Regains WBA Title, Wins Dominant Decision Over Mauricio Lara

[kiaba360]

Wood’s team are very clever indeed. They pulled a Leonard-Duran II by making Lara rematch right away when they assumed (correctly) that Lara would have been partying and celebrating for two months after winning the title.

The Lara/Wood 2 turnaround actually happened 2 months faster than Leonard/Duran 2. As such, Lara had less time to engage in irresponsible behavior. Wood didn't dwell on the stoppage loss, he dusted himself off and got back in the gym. The quick turnaround could've been disastrous for Wood because he risked not having enough time to physically/mentally recover. Lara isn't the only person that has a tough time making weight. If Wood got stopped again on Saturday, it could've spelled the end of his career.

[BustedKnuckles]

Lara's work rate went down because A) he was trying harder for the KO and putting more into single shots, B) missing punches tires and discourages a fighter more, C) he was being countered more effectively. Wood was more motivated and defense-aware. The IQ gap between them was huge.

I thought wood would win the first match and was surprised how it turned out. This time, i just kept asking myself, "what is wrong with lara?" Slow. Wild misses. Whats the strategy here? Didnt look like a defending champ. Looked like the guy who won the belts by mistake.