Eddie Hearn hails Josh Warrington’s ‘incredible’ bravery as he labels Mauricio Lara upset a ‘crushing blow’

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ddie Hearn has hailed Josh Warrington’s bravery as he suffered a “crushing blow” to his career by losing to Mauricio Lara on Saturday night.

The ‘Leeds Warrior’ looked completely out of sorts as he returned to the ring for the first time at The SSE Arena, Wembley following a 16-month absence, with an unconvincing and sluggish opening three rounds following by a devastating fourth in which he was sent sprawling to the canvas.

The fight arguably should have been stopped then by referee Howard Foster, but proceedings were allowed to continue and it seemed for the shortest time that the little-known Lara, 22, may come to regret letting his top-ranked opponent off the hook, before the hard-hitting Mexican inflicted more heavy punishment and forced a brutal stoppage in round nine.

As well as ranking among the most sizable shocks in the recent history of British boxing, the result also represented former IBF featherweight title-holder Warrington’s first loss in his 31st professional fight, leaving his hopes for future showdowns against the likes of champions Gary Russell Jr, Xu Can and Emanuel Navarrete scuppered for now.

Warrington did not conduct any post-fight interviews as he went straight backstage to be checked by doctors and then taken to hospital for further assessment, so it was left to promoter Eddie Hearn to sum up a chastening night for the popular Leeds favourite, during which he did at least show no shortage of heart.

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“It’s why it’s the best sport in the world, isn’t it?” Hearn told Sky Sports when asked if the result ranks alongside Anthony Joshua-Andy Ruiz I and Alexander Povetkin’s shock knockout of Dillian Whyte in terms of recent British boxing upsets.

“This young man, 22 years of age from Mexico City, comes in, no one gave him a chance. We knew he could fight, we said in the press conference, we spoke to people in Mexico, we didn’t think he’d beat the number-one ranked featherweight in the world, and he did.”

“We have to give Lara tremendous credit,” Hearn continued. “I don’t think I’ve seen bravery in the ring like what I saw from Josh Warrington for a long, long time.

“He never recovered from the shot [in the fourth round]. I spoke to him in the dressing room before the fight, and I said: ‘The chance that this young man has in the fight is to trade up with you. We know he can punch, just be smart’.

“And he didn’t do that, he was erratic. 16 months out of the ring, the ring rust showed. He got caught with a shot and he never recovered. How he got through that fourth round, I will never know.

“For the remainder of the fight, he was on empty. The bravery was incredible, and people will talk about the upset, but you have to give this man tremendous credit.

“We’ve seen tremendous Mexican fighters and this is another one. 22 years of age and for Josh Warrington it’s an absolute crushing blow. A crushing blow.

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“For all the great nights, we wanted to be standing here talking about a return to Leeds after the pandemic, the Gary Russell fight.

“Now it’s back to the drawing board, it’s looking at the future. This isn’t the kind of environment he’s used to, but no excuses, he got beaten by a hungry, hungry young Mexican fighter who changed his life tonight.”

Hearn confirmed that Warrington’s camp do have the option for a rematch and predicted that the 30-year-old would likely want to exercise that, but only after a long rest following what he dubbed a “brutal, brutal, brutal fight”.

Hearn added: “We do have the opportunity to rematch this young man, if Josh Warrington wants to. It’s not even in the mind at the moment. What’s on the mind is get Josh Warrington back to his family, let him recover and let him come to terms with what is a devastating career defeat.

“He will come again, he’s a great fighter. He’s been out for a long, long time and like I said, tonight just showed us why we love boxing so much because one punch can change everything.

“Three and a bit rounds Josh Warrington was in control of the fight, a bit erratic. This man with heavy hands landed one on the chin and it changed his life, it changed the career of Josh Warrington, but he’ll be back.

“And I daresay once he recovers, he’ll be wanting to take him on again.”