Canelo should do the right thing and give Lara a rematch like Mayweather gave Maidana a rematch

07/20/2014 Jeff Sorby

It’s been a little over a week since former WBA/WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (44-1-1, 31 KOs) won a controversial 12 round split decision win over Erislandy Lara (19-2-2, 12 KO’s) in their fight at middleweight at 155, and it’s clear that boxing fans are even more undecided now than they were back then.

Last night’s replay of the Canelo-Lara fight, including the ALL ACCESS epilogue showing, showed that Canelo’s win over Lara was far from convincing. The judges gave the more popular Canelo the victory by the scores of 115-113 and 117-111 for Canelo, and 115-113, but boxing fans are still largely split down the middle about who really won the fight.

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The case against the Boxing Purists

07/20/201407/19/2014 Philip Green

Boxing purists are a group of fans that like nothing better than to fawn over the defensive skills and ‘tactical mastery’ of fighters who most normal fans would simply describe as boring. Whilst there is nothing inherently wrong with appreciating the defensive aspects of the sport, boxing purists often look down on aggressive, come forward fighters who try to force the action as being one dimensional and lacking in genuine boxing skills.

Like a bunch of snooty College Professors they usually regard ‘lefty’ Southpaws to be inherently superior to Orthodox fighters, a belief which is as baseless as it is predictable. Purists are also some of the most vocal whiners and complainers when a close decision does not go their way and it is time their charges were rebuked.

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Erislandy Lara: “There is no way I lost to Canelo”

07/14/2014 Mario Serrano

After landing more punches and connecting with a higher percentage, Erislandy “The American Dream” Lara (19-2-2, 12 KOs) feels he was robbed in his fight with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (44-1-1, 31 KOs) that took place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas this past weekend.

Fact, Lara landed 107 total punches to Alvarez’s 97 and had a higher connect percentage (28% Lara – 23% Alvarez). The body shots that Alvarez landed were grazing shots that Lara blocked with his elbows, and most of them came in the round he got cut.

Erislandy sounds off on why he feels he won the fight and deserves an immediate rematch.

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Saul Alvarez vs Erislandy Lara – a politically correct split decision could be a fancy phrase for “plunder”

07/14/201407/14/2014 Ivan Ivanov

A figure like Saul Alvarez is good for boxing because it unifies the most loyal and numerous fan base in boxing today. Mexican fans are a dream; they are faithful to their dear, hostile to the opposition and willing to spend their hard earned money on their favorite boxer. The industry depends on them as the greatest marketing force and the „macho” element in their culture makes them the perfect target group for boxing entertainment.

There has been no shortage of Mexican talent in the lighter divisions but boxing has seen better days. Canelo is what the fans depend on today and he could only hope he lives up to their expectations. Some day he might but he didn’t against Erislandy Lara. Alvarez was thoroughly outclassed by the Cuban ex-amateur standout and he should have lost that fight by at least a 6 point margin.

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Canelo vs Lara: Post Fight Press Conference

09/15/201607/14/2014 Michael Montero

Only minutes after thrilling a sellout crowd of 14.239 raucous fans at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Erislandy Lara and Saul Alvarez came to the media room to answer questions from the press and reflect on their highly competitive bout. Team Canelo showed up first, as Lara was getting his eye stitched up in the dressing room. Alvarez donned dark sunglasses to conceal the swelling around his own eyes, courtesy of the straight lefts Lara connected with throughout their fight.

“We knew it was going to be that type of fight (chasing Lara around the ring), I was going to be pressing him”, said Canelo. “But I didn’t think it was going to be that long of a marathon”. When asked about whether his corner ever told him he was behind at any point in the fight, he replied, “No they never told me that. They kept telling me to keep the pressure. I felt that I won, I pressured, I made the fight, I ran to him, I landed the combinations.”

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Left-Hook Lounge Mailbag: Canelo vs Lara – The Fight, The Score Cards, The Aftermath!!!

07/14/201407/14/2014 Vivek Wallace

Casey H. (Los Angeles, CA): I saw your Facebook post about the score cards and don’t necessarily agree, but I can respect that there’s a lot of depth to your points. Can you elaborate on how you scored the fight the way you did and why?

Vivek W. (ESB): I think the easiest way to address this question is to point out the fact that fans must realize one simple truth: The way we judge fights as fans is NOT the criteria in which judges are asked to judge fights professionally. If it were that easy, there would be no basic and/or extended requirements to do so. When we judge fights on a fan level, we look for guys landing, giving and taking, and basically the typical stuff. A judges job is far more in-depth and it requires a totally different mental approach, as there are three major things they have to account for, wherein the typical everyday fan is only looking for one (who’s getting hit the most).

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Lara Proves Wrong Thing in Loss to Canelo

07/13/2014 Paul Strauss

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez managed on saturday night to squeak out a split decision win over Erislandy Lara at the MGM Grand, Grand Garden Arena, Las Veges, NV. Lara was devastated over the loss. He felt making Canelo look foolish should have been enough for him to earn the win.

Lara was right, but only about one thing. He did make Canelo look foolish. He would have made any fighter in his weight class look foolish, while proving he has a great pair of legs. He was like Barry Sanders, the great running back for the Detroit Lions. Sanders used to make defenders look foolish when they grabbed for him and got nothing but air. In football the trick is the runner has to advance the ball. In boxing, you still have to punch to win a fight.

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Canelo Alvarez scores close win in brilliant fight with Lara; three names being mentioned for the Mexican star’s next fight: Golovkin, Cotto, Kirkland!

07/13/201407/13/2014 James Slater

The usual debates that take place after a close fight has been awarded to the “house” fighter, or the big star, over the lesser name with less promotional clout on his side, have already begun. Some say Saul Canelo Alvarez was a worthy winner over slick southpaw Erislandy Lara in Las Vegas last night, while others claim the Cuban talent was robbed of a deserving win. The split decision proved one thing: it’s never easy being a boxing judge.

But whatever you think of last night’s scoring, it has to be agreed by everyone how the 155-pound catch-weight battle was a terrific, engrossing fight. A clash of styles that resulted in some excellent action, Alvarez-Lara was thoroughly entertaining. Talk has also begun of the possibility of a rematch – something Team-Lara obviously and understandably want – but Canelo’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya – who was proven to be correct in his thinking that his fighter would win the risky, some said foolishly taken fight with Lara – has said his warrior is “moving on,” and that no-one wants to see a return of last night’s fight.

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Canelo defeats Lara via split decision

07/13/201407/13/2014 Michael Montero

A sellout crowd of 14.239 passionate fans rocked the MGM Grand Garden Arena for tonight’s main event. It was a mostly Mexican, pro Saul “Canelo” Alvarez crowd that came to cheer their man on as he took on the highly skilled Cuban southpaw Erislandy Lara.

The scene was tense in the opening round. Lara landed the first solid blow of the night, a straight left hand right down the pike that drew an “ahh” from the crowd. The Cuban was more active and more accurate and clearly took the first.

Through the second round Alvarez dug some nice lefts hook to the body, but the jab was nonexistent from the Mexican. Both fighters had their moments, but the Mexican’s shots were much harder. You could hear the thud from Canelo’s punches ringside, while Lara did a lot of running. In the closing seconds of the third round Lara landed another flush straight left. Alvarez walked through it, but the speed difference was telling.

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Canelo Alvarez wins close split-decision over Erislandy Lara from sold-out MGM Grand Garden Arena on Showtime PPV®

07/13/201407/12/2014 Showtime Boxing

(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) LAS VEGAS (July 12, 2014) – Canelo Alvarez won a close split-decision victory over Erislandy Lara in the SHOWTIME PPV main event in front a sold-out pro-Canelo crowd at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.

Judge Jerry Roth scored it 115-113 for Lara, Dave Moretti 115-113 for Canelo and Levi Martinez 117-111 for Canelo.

The Mexico vs. Cuba showdown was a classic boxer-puncher matchup with Mexican superstar Canelo as the powerful aggressor and Cuban sensation Lara the slick boxing southpaw.

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