A fan-favorite Nottingham boxer had an interesting reaction to finding out his former foe was banned for testing positive after their fight.
It was recently announced that Mauricio ‘Bronco’ Lara has been banned from boxing for two years following a positive test result following a fight he had years ago.
Fans have expressed outrage at the recent announcement, as Lara has been allowed to fight three times since testing positive, and his ban has been backdated, meaning it will expire in March 2026.
The Mexican holds wins over top British talents like Josh Warrington, but it is another Brit who had an interesting reaction to Lara’s ban.
Leigh Wood responds to Mauricio Lara’s drug ban with Kanye West meme
Lara first fought Leigh Wood in February 2023, in a defense of Wood’s WBA Regular title. Ahead on every scorecard going into the seventh round, Wood seemed certain to win until a big shot from Lara dropped the Nottingham man.
In a moment that stirred much controversy, Wood’s trainer threw in the towel with only six seconds left of the round.
Wood, a Nottingham Forest supporter, rematched Lara just months later, winning a unanimous decision points victory. It was after this fight that Lara tested positive, and fans reached out to Wood to ask how he felt about his opponent potentially posing serious harm by using banned substances.
Surprisingly, he intially jumped to the defence of his former foe, stating: “Don’t think he was looking for an intentional advantage, more misinformed what he can take & when. Irrelevant anyway.”
However, when a fan asked “Would you say the same if you had lost the rematch ?”, Wood responded in hilarious fashion, sharing a meme of Kanye West’s famous awards speech.
The night Leigh Wood knocked his opponent out of the ring
In 2022, in the fight before Wood’s first encounter with Lara, the Brit faced Irishman, Michael Conlan.
At the time of the contest, Wood’s record was 25-2, whilst Conlan was undefeated as a 16-0 professional.
Conlan knocked Wood down in the very first round, and it looked as though the fight would not go the distance, however, demonstrating his impressive ability to recover quickly, Wood fought on until the twelfth and final round.
Going into the final round, the scorecards read 105-102, 104-103, 104-103, all in favor of Michael Conlan.
However, mid-way through the final round, Wood delivered a shot that would not only stop Conlan but send him out of the ropes.
Thankfully he sustained no serious injuries and fought on, making his comeback last weekend after two consecutive losses on the undercard of Harlem Eubank, who eyes a fight with Josh Taylor or Conor Benn next. Wood will return against Anthony Cacace in April on one of Queensberry’s first shows with DAZN.