Josh Warrington hopes to not only kick off a huge 2021 for himself but also for Matchroom Boxing when he headlines the promotion's return to live boxing on Saturday against Mauricio Lara.
Warrington left Matchroom for Frank Warren's Queensberry Promotions several years ago but returned to Eddie Hearn's stable in 2020.
The fight with Lara came about when the Leeds man, who has defeated elite compatriots Lee Selby and Carl Frampton, opted to look elsewhere rather than grant Kid Galahad a second bout after a unification fight with WBA 'regular' champion Can Xu fell through.
The 30-year-old vacated his IBF title and will now start over in his quest for dominance at 126lb. His first hurdle is Mexico's reputable young challenger Lara, who steps in to replace Xu.
Here's everything you need to know about the fight card.
Warrington vs. Lara fight date, start time
Date: Saturday, Feb. 13
Time: 2 p.m. EST/7p.m. GMT
Main event: 5 p.m. EST/10 p.m. GMT
The main card for Warrington vs. Lara begins at 7 p.m. local time in the UK, which is 2 p.m. over on the east coast of the United States. Main event ringwalks are anticipated around 10 p.m. UK/5 p.m. U.S., but the exact start time of the featured bout depends on how long the undercard runs.
Warrington vs. Lara TV channel, live stream
U.S.: DAZN
U.K.: Sky Sports Arena
Sky Sports will air the fight in the UK and Ireland, and the channel you need is Sky Sports Arena — though the Warrington vs. Lara fight itself will also be simulcast on Sky Sports Main Event at 10 p.m. Subscribers can also tune in on the go with the Sky Go app.
Everywhere else across the globe (except Australia and New Zealand), the card will be shown on DAZN — and that includes the US. You can sign up for a subscription here, and while prices wary depending on your residence, monthly fees are as little as £1.99.
Where is the Warrington vs. Lara fight?
Matchroom will return to The SSE Arena, Wembley for Warrington vs. Lara as well as the David Avanesyan vs. Josh Kelly card the following Saturday. The promotion staged the entirety of their fall 2020 schedule at the arena, including Oleksandr Usyk vs. Dereck Chisora and Anthony Joshua vs. Kubrat Pulev. The promotion will continue to operate a "bubble" there in full compliance with the current COVID-19 protocol.
Josh Warrington record and bio
- Nationality: English
- Born: Nov. 14, 1990
- Height: 5'7"
- Reach: 67"
- Total fights: 30
- Record: 30-0 (7 KOs)
Mauricio Lara record and bio
- Nationality: Mexican
- Born: Feb. 23, 1998
- Height: n/a
- Reach: n/a
- Total fights: 23
- Record: 21-2 (14 KOs)
Warrington vs. Lara fight odds
- Warrington to win: 1/25
- Lara to win: 10/1
- Draw: 25/1
- Warrington via KO/TKO: 2/5
- Warrington via decision: 21/10
- Lara via KO/TKO:13/1
- Lara via decision: 30/1
The above are the latest odds for the fight in the UK as at Tuesday, Feb. 9, via Betfair.
Warrington vs. Lara card in full
- Josh Warrington vs. Mauricio Lara; Featherweight
- Leigh Wood vs. Reece Mould for vacant British featherweight title
- Zelfa Barrett vs. Kiko Martinez; Junior Lightweight
- Dalton Smith vs. Ishmael Ellis; Junior Welterweight
- Shannon Courtenay vs. TBA; Bantamweight
- Ivan Price vs. Zahid Hussain; Featherweight