Mauricio Lara vs Daniel Lugo Preview February 16th, 2024
Former WBA Featherweight Champion Mauricio Lara will be taking on fellow Mexican Daniel Lugo in their homeland on Friday, February 16th. The 10-round junior lightweight bout can be seen live on DAZN in most nations. Lara last fought in May when he met Leigh Wood in a rematch and looked quite disinterested as he dropped a unanimous decision and was also decked in the second round. Lara came in almost four pounds overweight and was stripped of the title before the fight. Lara had stopped Wood in the seventh round three months earlier to take the title. Lugo last saw action in October when he beat Miguel Nunez via a 10-round unanimous decision.
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Lara vs Lugo Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Daniel Lugo +450
- Mauricio Lara -700
My Pick
Lara is 25 years old and made his pro debut back in October, 2015 as a teenager and has boxed 137 rounds since. He measures 5-feet-7-inches tall with a 67-inch reach and owns a record of 26-3-1 with 19 Ko’s. He’s known as a pretty hard hitter as 73.1 per cent of his wins have come by way of knockout, including 11 of his last 13 victories.
Lara’s first defeat came at the hands of Julio Carabino by four-round split decision in his pro debut and he was stopped in just 50 seconds by Eliot Chavez in May, 2018. His lone draw was a technical decision after two rounds with Josh Warrington in September, 2021 when the fight was stopped due to a cut to Lara’s eye from an accidental headbutt.
Lara had made a name for himself on the world stage seven months earlier when he decked the previously unbeaten IBF Featherweight Champion Warrington in the fourth round and then stopped him in the ninth round in an upset. Up until then, his level of opposition wasn’t the greatest but all of his opponents had entered the ring with winning records.
As for the 29-year-old Lugo, he makes the ring walk with a mark of 27-2 with 18 Ko’s and has 125 rounds of experience under his belt since turning pro in 2015. He stands just over 5-feet-7-inches tall, only half-an-inch bigger than Lara, but unfortunately there’s no information on his reach. He also carries above-average power in his punches as 66.7 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage. However he’s gone the distance in six of his last eight wins.
Lugo’s first loss came to Jair Quintero via a six-round split decision in 2015 while his second defeat was at the hands of Edwin Palomares by sixth-round TKO in November, 2021. Lugo captured the vacant WBC Fecarbox Featherweight Title in February, 2021 with a 10-round unanimous decision over Luis Guzman Rios. He’s never fought outside of Mexico and just 11 of his 29 opponents have had winning records.
Prediction…
Lara was having problems making the 126 lb featherweight limit so is heading north to junior lightweight at 130 lbs. He’s still only 25 years old and possesses an aggressive, hard-punching style. He usually doesn’t appear to worry about the judges during his fights as he doesn’t plan on them going the distance. He needs to rebound with a good showing after the debacle of the Leigh Wood rematch and should be able to take care of Lugo, likely by stoppage.
The hard-hitting Lara rebounds with a win.
Play: Lara -700 @ BetOnline.ag
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Daniel Lugo betting • Mauricio Lara betting