EDDIE HEARN has shared a gruesome picture of Mauricio Lara’s eye cut that forced his rematch against Josh Warrington to end in a draw.
The Mexican featherweight, 23, clashed heads with the Leeds Warrior in the second round of their bout on Saturday night with referee Steve Gray calling off the contest.
As there were fewer than four rounds contested at Headingley Stadium, the fight ended in a technical draw – much to the frustration of Warrington and his adoring fans.
But there can be no denying that Gray made the right choice in prematurely ending the contest following the horror gash picked up by Lara.
Uploading a snap of the slash on Instagram, Hearn said: “What a sickener – but a horrendous cut!”
Warrington was left devastated after being denied the chance to avenge the loss he suffered at the hands of Bronco in February.
Speaking after the encounter, he said: “All these people wanted to see me get redemption tonight.
“I thought I opened him up with a punch in the first round but a clash of styles, my head hit him. I’m absolutely gutted.”
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He added: “I wanted to put on a performance and that was always going to come at some point, I felt I was really getting into it.
“I know my promoter Eddie Hearn might want to look in other directions but I need to get this slate cleared, I need to get the W over this man.
“Especially after the second round I sat down and said ‘this is mine for the taking’, I could see it being an early night but not in this kind of scenario.
“Weeks and weeks of promotion, all of these people came out and I can only say sorry, we will have our redemption.”
Meanwhile Hearn has stated he believes that the fight should have continued for at least another round.
He told DAZN: “The second round, it got so exciting after the clash of heads because Lara feared that his cut was opening up.
“Josh Warrington knew under four rounds there would be no decision. I would have loved to have seen at least another round. I’ll be honest with you.
“The cut was absolutely horrific. I didn’t think it was when he [Lara] went back to his corner. I also felt like Lara was looking for a way out of the fight.
“They called the doctor in, but the cut was absolutely horrific, and unfortunately, there was no way he could continue.
“The atmosphere was so good, and the ring walk was one of the best I’d ever seen. I wanted to see more rounds.
“That’s never happened to me before in a main event, and I’m gutted for Josh. People came out tonight and had a great night, but we really wanted to see that fight unfold because it was build up to be a thriller.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk