Can lightning strike twice? Ulises Lara hopes so.

The veteran fighter pulled off one of the biggest upsets of 2017, besting former minimumweight world titleholder and fringe light flyweight contender Moises Fuentes.

Lara believes he can do it again in a rematch Saturday when both fighters square off in a 10-round bout at the Domo Sindicato Trabajadores del IMSS in Mexico City.

In their previous fight, Lara was able to weather an early barrage and outbox Fuentes over the second half of the fight to win a 10-round majority decision.

Including that victory, Lara (18-15-2, 10 knockouts) has now won five of his last six bouts. His success has not gone unnoticed as he is ranked No. 15 by the WBO at 108 pounds and No. 14 by the WBC at 112.

Fuentes (24-4-1, 13 KOs) cannot afford another loss. Prior to the Lara defeat, he was stopped by Kosei Tanaka in the fifth round of a bout which was for the vacant WBO light flyweight title.

Saturday’s clash is also for bragging rights as both fighters reside in the Mexico City area.

Also fighting on the Zanfer Promotions card will be junior featherweight contender Emanuel Navarrete (21-1, 18 KOs). The 22-year-old Navarrete, who is ranked No. 3 by the WBA, will face Danny Flores (15-10-1, 8 KOs) in a 10-round bout.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for RingTV.com since October of 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper, Boxingscene.com, and FightNights.com. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing

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On the cover this month: Mikey Garcia