Where was the Lara that Beat Angulo?

By Boxing News - 07/14/2014 - Comments

lara543By Robert “Big Moe” Elmore: I re-watched Erislandy Lara’s fight with Alfredo Angulo and then re watched then his fight with Saul Alvarez. The one big difference that I saw in the Angulo fight was; he let his hands go. He stuck to his usual stick and move style, but he was punching when he saw the openings. There was no hesitation on Lara’s end and Angulo’s face showed the results. Even when he was knocked down twice he continued the same level of activity he started out with. Where was this Lara against Canelo? Where? Angulo, like Canelo, is best when he sits down on his punches.

The difference between Canelo and Angulo is Canelo’s ability to cut the ring off. Angulo comes straight ahead which makes it easier for him to be punched. Fighters like that hope, while eating punches and willingness to stalk, would get a fighter to start thinking “I’m hitting him with everything and he’s still coming”.

It’s a discouragement tactic. Back to the Lara-Canelo fight. He was jabbing making Canelo miss. I was also monitoring the comments on ESPN.com and most of the sports writers had Lara winning 3-0 going into the fourth round. My question is why did Lara stop doing what he was doing for the first three rounds?

In my humble opinion, Lara got caught up in “Hey judges. I’m making him miss” hype. What he should have been doing was making Canelo pay when he missed. His comparison to Floyd’s fight with Canelo was laughable. Floyd was in the pocket most of the night and pressed Canelo. Yes, Floyd moved, but he did two things with his movement. One, it kept Canelo guessing his rhythm so he couldn’t be pinpointed. And two, not to let Canelo set up to deliver combinations or the big punch. Lara did none of this after the third round.

I guarantee you, had Lara countered most of Canelo’s shots he missed, the fight would have gone his way. It was a split decision meaning the fight could have gone either way. The 117-111 score was ridiculous though. If this was a three round fight, Lara wins. But again, I ask; where was the Lara that landed 221 punches on Angulo?



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