Saul “El Canelo” Alvarez vs. Erislandy Lara – The Cuban school vs. the Mexican style?

This bout at the MGM Grand tonight is as good as it gets in terms of match-making. Despite the age difference of 8 years in Canelo’s favor both fighters are perceived as up-and-comers and Alvarez has a superstar status with his home crowd. Lara on the other hand is deprived of a loyal home fan base for obvious reasons and will hardly be the draw in the fight.

Saul Alvarez, 43(KO 31)-1-1 has more KOs on his record than Lara, 19(KO 12)-1-2, has fights but Lara brings a wealth of amateur boxing experience and comes across as the boxer of the duo. Erislandy is a typical exponent of the Cuban amateur school and brings most of the assets that have made Cuban boxing such an icon. He does have setbacks however – he does not punch his weight and sacrifices power for precision and timing. Most fans won’t forgive him going down twice against one Alfredo Angulo (I can’t) and his chin/punch resistance credibility will remain spurious for a long time. Otherwise he is brilliant technician who uses all defensive dimensions the way Alcides Sagarra taught him and he has tactical savvy and always seems in good shape. Being a slick rangy southpaw who sticks to long range makes him a very tough customer – he has only one loss against Paul Williams and it is highly controversial.

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Canelo-Lara Fight Week Coverage – Weigh In

A loud, proud and passionate crowd filled into the MGM Grand Garden Arena for today’s weigh in. Numerous boxing personalities like Floyd Mayweather Senior were in the house as well as several fighters, including newly crowned WBC heavyweight titlist Bermane Stiverne. Showtime’s Jimmy Lennon emceed the festivities and the partisan Mexican-American crowd showed their love for their fighters throughout. If the atmosphere today was an indication of what to expect come fight night, it’s appears that we’re in for a special event.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (155 Lbs.) vs. Erislandy Lara (155 Lbs.)
The crowd was deafening as both fighters stepped onto the stage; jeers for Lara and cheers for Alvarez. Lara looked cool and calm, smiling as he stepped to the scale and hit the contracted weight of 155 pounds. Canelo was all business for the most part, letting out only a small grin as the crowd erupted when he hit the scale. The Mexican superstar also measured 155 pounds.

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Alvarez vs. Lara – A fight for Alvarez to lose

When Alvarez lost to Mayweather, they brought him back against Alfredo Angulo, a confidence booster. The type of fight that Canelo and his handlers would have hand picked while listening to the TLC song, don’t go chasing water falls.

Angulo is a good fighter but his come forward, plant your feet and throw style (his nick name is Perro – Spanish for dog) is perfect for Alvarez. It was a very small step towards redemption. In this modern day, business focused world of boxing, Alvarez could have chosen to fight more of these compatible opponents and made a mint along the way. Instead, he’s chosen to fight Erislandy Lara, a slick, highly skilled, highly avoided, former world amateur champion and current fighter’s nightmare.

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Canelo-Lara Fight Week Coverage – Presser

The final press conference before Saturday night’s PPV card kicked off around 1pm this afternoon at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. An eager crowd of international press gathered as Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya introduced the fighters. The conference was streamed live on Showtime’s site.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez 43-1-1 (31KO) vs. Erislandy Lara 19-1-2 (12KO), light middleweights Only four months ago Canelo had a dominant performance at the MGM Grand against rugged brawler Alfredo Angulo. Slick boxing southpaw Lara figures to bring a much tougher challenge Saturday night.

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Mayweather vs. Maidana II Set For Sept. 13 Live on SHO PPV

LAS VEGAS (July 10, 2014) – Their thrilling first fight last May left sports fans clamoring for more. Now, 11-time world champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather and Marcos “El Chino” Maidana will do it again. “MAYHEM: Mayweather vs. Maidana II,” a welterweight world championship fight announced today, will take place Saturday, Sept. 13 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, live on SHOWTIME PPV.

Ticket information and information about an upcoming five-city, cross-country press tour starting this Monday, July 14 will be announced shortly.

Despite the brutal nature of their first meeting, Mayweather has chosen to give Maidana a chance to redeem himself and earn a victory against the undefeated champion by facing him again in the storied MGM Grand Garden Arena. This exciting rematch will serve to test the skill and will of both men and finish what was started last May.

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Canelo Alvarez vs. Erislandy Lara: Winner enters elite ranks

To the victor goes the spoils’ which includes an upgrade to elite status for winner of Showtime’s PPV main event this Saturday night, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. There are many questions that remain just days before these men battle for Pride and Glory.

Can Canelo Alvarez make his star shine even brighter in this career defining moment? Will Erislandy Lara be the thorn in Canelo’s side with his counter punching slick-style? And of course with a cash cow headlining the event, it must be asked if there will be a controversial ending to add yet another black eye to an already beat up sport?

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Bradley Up For A Miguel Cotto Fight

Rumors of a possible matchup between newly crowned Middleweight Champion Miguel Cotto and former WBO Welterweight Titlist Timothy Bradley have been circulating around the boxing community since Cottos victory over former Middleweight Champion Sergio Martinez in June. Bradley’s Promoter Bob Arum, CEO of Top Rank Promotions, first brought up the idea for the matchup, one being at a catchweight of 155 pounds, allowing Cotto to be eligible to defend his title, or giving Bradley the opportunity to win it.

Cotto’s team has recently dispelled any rumors about the fight being in talks at the moment. Bradley’s trainer Joel Diaz has complemented the rumors saying that the fight interests them. However Bradley finds himself in physical therapy until August at the earliest, so any name that gets rumored against him will have to wait a little while until a fight is in order.

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Let’s give Jesús the Space He’s Earned

Not all boxers who win world titles are born stars. Those are just a handful compared to the number of athletes that try their luck in this sport since it’s begginings. Not every fighter is Oscar De La Hoya or Sugar Ray Leonard. Some make it the hard way, the FIGHTER’S WAY. This is the case of Jesús Rojas.

The boxer from Caguas, Puerto Rico had a good amateur run and began his professional phase with a significant streak of wins, most coming by knockout. His style is as aggressive as possible from the first bell. If you follow network boxing you must know middleweight titlist Gennady Golovkin. Jesús is a 122-pound Golovkin. He throws long hard punches to the body and head without going crazy.

Just when it looked like big fights were coming, the young puertorican had a couple of situations out of the ring that led to his first loss. He won his next 5 fights and got a draw after that. Those factors made mexican superstar Jorge Arce sign to fight Jesús in las Vegas in 2012.

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Mikey Garcia: Lara could out-box Canelo

(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) WBO super featherweight champion Mikey Garcia thinks that former WBA/WBC light middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (43-1-1, 31 KO’s) is going to have his hands full on Saturday night against the slick Cuban southpaw Erislandy Lara (19-1-2, 12 KO’s) in their catch-weight fight at 155 pounds.

Mikey sees Lara as going into this fight with a lot to prove to boxing fans, because he wasn’t given a shot by Canelo all these years. Lara is now getting his chance against the 23-year-old Canelo, so he’s going to want to perform well and show boxing fans what he’s all about.

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Iron Mike Productions: “Judgement Day” – Live Tonight on FoxSports1 (8ET/5PT)

Tonight, live on FoxSports1, Iron Mike Productions will offer fight fans a very interesting night of action in a card capped off with a rematch between Argenis “La Tormenta” Mendez (21-1-1, 1NC, 11KO’s) and Rances “Kid Blast” Barthelemy (19-0, 1 NC, 12 KOs). Don’t show up late for this one, as the stacked undercard will showcase the talents of two other studs under the promotional banner when Light Heavyweight Humberto “El Don” Savigne (12-1, 9 KOs) and Welterweight stud Erickson “Hammer” Lubin (5-0, 5 KOs) take center stage.

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