CANELO-LARA FIGHT PREVIEW
By Ralph Rimpell
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 12 Jul 2014
This Saturday, July 12, 2014, Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez (43-1-1, 31 KOs) faces Erislandy Lara (19-1-2, 12KOs) in a non-title junior middleweight bout that will likely determine whether Canelo will receive a rematch with Floyd ?Money? Mayweather or Lara will remain in line to win the Mayweather sweepstakes.
Canelo fought Mayweather back on September 14, 2013 and lost a unanimous decision to Mayweather in what was the most lucrative Pay Per View (PPV) fight ever that shattered all other prior PPV fight records.
Coincidentally, it was Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya that held the previous PPV record. Give Canelo all the credit in the world for taking on the tough Cuban (Lara). Lara, who is 31, had an amateur Record of 81-14 with two World Championships, according to Boxrec.com. His defection eventually led him to the US and he has risen to become the recognized WBA junior middleweight champion of the world and should officially be undefeated.
Lara has fought two former World Champions in Paul Williams and Austin Trout. He also fought the tough top rated contender Alfredo Angulo. All three are upper echelon fighters. He clearly outboxed the formerly feared Williams, but was not given the decision. There was such an outcry that according to boxrec.com, the judges who scored that fight were officially suspended. He was behind on the official scorecard when suffering two knockdowns against Angulo, but dug down deep and continued until the tough Angulo quit because of an eye injury. He outboxed the capable Austin Trout, the man who embarrassed the newly crowned current WBC Middleweight Champion of the world, Miguel Cotto, (for the first time at Madison Square Garden) back on June 2, 2012 with a unanimous Decision.
According to Boxrec.com, Canelo had between 20-40 amateur fights with only 2 losses. He also won a Junior Mexican national championship. At the age of 23 he is already a veteran with a total of 45 fights and two world titles. Both fighters fight resumes and Latino heritage make this fight very interesting. What can we expect from the opening bell for each fighter to come out victorious and stay relevant for a potential rematch or match with Mayweather?
Canelo is a pressure fighter who comes forward. Lara appears to be the quicker fighter. Canelo will have to time Lara in an effort to negate his speed. He must not circle to Lara?s left because of Lara?s Southpaw stance where he would be susceptible to Lara?s left hand. He must instead give Lara angles to avoid his punches. Canelo must also outwork Lara and apply pressure from the beginning of the fight to the end. Lara even if he falls behind will never give up the same way he dug down deep to come from behind and defeat Angulo.
Lara will look to outbox and frustrate Canelo. Canelo appears to be the stronger fighter. The fight was contracted at a catchweight of 155lbs (1 pound above the junior middleweight limit). ) On fight night (more than 24hrs later) Canelo might weigh close to super middleweight (168lbs). Lara must therefore avoid exchanges, which can lead to knockdowns as in the Angulo fight. He will have to execute this plan perfectly to win in the eyes of those watching.
This writer sees a very competitive and even fight for the first four rounds. The fight leans towards Canelo in the 5th round with a knockdown. Canelo will continue to wear Lara down in 6 and 7 and eventually stop him in round 8.
Contact: RLuvsboxing@aol.com
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