Eddie Hearn expected Leigh Wood to allow Mauricio Lara and Josh Warrington to fight again before facing the winner later this year.

Wood still would’ve received his opportunity to win back the WBA featherweight title had he waited for the Lara-Warrington rematch his promoter pushed, but Wood wouldn’t hear of it. The former 126-pound champion instead exercised his contractual clause for an immediate rematch against Mexico’s Lara (26-2-1, 19 KOs), who upset Wood (26-3, 16 KOs) by seventh-round technical knockout February 18 at Nottingham Arena in Wood’s hometown of Nottingham, England.

Hearn announced Saturday night during the Anthony Joshua-Jermaine Franklin card at O2 Arena in London that Lara and Wood will fight again next. Their 12-round rematch will be the main event of a card DAZN will stream worldwide May 27 from AO Arena in Manchester, England.

“I mean, yeah, ultimately, Leigh Wood, as champion, had the rematch clause,” Hearn said during an interview that was posted to Matchroom Boxing’s YouTube channel. “And I did expect him to wait for Josh Warrington to fight [Lara], but he just wouldn’t have it. You know, he wanted that rematch. He believes he shoulda won that fight. He believes he was on the way to winning that fight, but he got stopped.”

Wood was ahead on the scorecards of all three judges entering the seventh round of his battle with Lara. Judges Oliver Brien (59-55), Howard Foster (58-56) and Guillermo Perez Pineda (58-56) had Wood in front through six rounds, but Lara’s left hook during an exchange knocked Wood flat on his back with 23 seconds remaining in the seventh round.

A disoriented Wood wanted to continue once he beat referee Michael Alexander’s count. Alexander stopped their 12-round, 126-pound title bout, though, because Ben Davison, Wood’s trainer, threw in the towel.

The 25-year-old Lara previously upset Leeds’ Warrington (31-2-1, 8 KOs) by ninth-round technical knockout in February 2021 at OVO Arena Wembley in London. They settled for a technical draw in their immediate rematch, which prematurely ended in the second round because an accidental clash of heads caused a cut above Lara’s left eye in September 2021 at Headingley Rugby Stadium in Leeds.

Mexico City’s Lara hasn’t lost since Eliot Chavez (then 5-1-1) knocked him out in the first round of their May 2018 bout in Victoria de Durango, Mexico.

“Mauricio Lara looks full of confidence,” Hearn said. “I mean, AJ just saw him and went up to him and was like, ‘You …’ I mean, he’s a big fan. And a lot of people in this country have become big fans of Mauricio Lara. It’s in Manchester this time. Nottingham wasn’t available. So, we got a big card to announce there. Jack Catterall will be co-main event and it’s a big opportunity for Leigh Wood to become world champion again.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for krikya360.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.