Mauricio Lara stops Josh Warrington in round 9 upset (Video)

Unknown boxer Mauricio Lara gave former IBF featherweight champion Josh Warrington the surprise of his life and pulled off the gigantic upset. 

Josh Warrington was a huge betting favorite against the unheralded Mauricio Lara, but it looks like past wars against Lee Selby and Carl Frampton have finally taken a toll on the 30-year-old boxer from Leeds.

Lara (22-2, 15 KOs) got a golden ticket when Can Xu pulled out of a scheduled bout against former IBF featherweight champion Josh Warrington. The 22-year-old from Mexico got the Feb. 13 assignment against Warrington and made the most of his fantastic opportunity.

During a prefight press conference early in the week, Warrington insisted that he wasn’t taking Lara lightly. However, Warrington did put a lot of emphasis on his planned future in fights against the likes of Can Xu and Gary Russell Jr. He gave up his IBF title to avoid a mandatory rematch against Kid Galahad to pursue those bouts, but Lara turned those dreams into dust with his left hook which ultimately devastated the progress of Warrington’s career.

Warrington targeted Lara’s body early in round 1. It didn’t take long before one of his hooks strayed low, and the referee warned him. Lara tried to press forward, landed some jabs, and eventually connected on a solid right uppercut that got Warrington’s attention. His hands were slower than Warrington’s, but they were heavier. Warrington’s inability to evade Lara’s best shots proved fateful later in the fight.

Josh Warrington was supposed to make easy work of Mauricio Lara, but Lara’s power and will changed the script

Warrington regained control of the fight in rounds 2 and 3. He started to use his feet and box scientifically, but his defensive flaws were about to be exploited in round 4.

Lara’s left hook badly hurt Warrington in round 4. He followed up with a combination that dropped Warrington. He got up, but his legs were gone. Lara tried for the knockout and nearly got it. The referee almost stopped the fight, but Warrington miraculously made it through the round while stumbling back to his corner.

Warrington’s legs were still shot in round 5, but he boxed his way into round 6, where he looked somewhat recovered.

Warrington and Lara went back and forth, but something had to give. They were both taking a lot of shots. Lara’s right eye was busted up, and Warrington’s face and mouth were puffy, and then it happened.

In round 9, Lara connected with several left hooks that planted Warrington to the canvas. There were still two minutes left to go, and the referee saw enough and waved the fight off. Lara won by TKO.

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Some sports betting services had Lara as far down as a 13-1 underdog, but his power wrecked Warrington’s homecoming after a 16-month layoff. That time away from boxing hurt Warrington, but there’s a good chance that the damage was already done in his past fights.

You can’t count Warrington out entirely. He’s a former champion and could work his way back, but this is a serious setback. Lara deserves credit and is suddenly in the title picture. This fight will go down as an Upset of the Year contender, and it’s only February.