Why Lara lost against Canelo

By Boxing News - 07/14/2014 - Comments

lara567By Hector Gonzalez: I’m reading some comments regarding last nights fight between Erislandy Lara (19-2-2, 12 KOs) and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (44-1-1, 31 KOs) as some fans feel that it was a controversial decision in Canelo’s favor. Some of these fans are even claiming that Lara put on a ‘boxing clinic’ and ‘schooled Canelo’, Some of these same fans are even using the ‘term hit and not be hit’ inaccurately, justifying as to why Lara was inactive through out a few of the rounds. Lara performance was not about the sweet science.

First of all I will start of by saying that it was a close fight, but I had Canelo winning by a round or two. It was close but I would like to clear the air more than anything about what some of these fans are saying.

First and foremost, I enjoy a good technician, one of my favorite technicians to watch in recent memories is Pernell Whitaker, I specially enjoyed watching his angles, and I personally believe that if his punches were to have had more pop and he had a better chin he could have been technically superior to Floyd Mayweather Jr. Unfortunately Whitaker was feather-fisted.

Another fighter, master of defense, I would encourage boxing fans to research is Miguel Canto.

Currently aside from Mayweather and Guillermo Rigondeaux, another technically gifted fighter that I’m really interested in seeing more of, some fans might disagree, is Chris Algieri.

Lara was not that last night….. Lara was a technician in small fragments of the fight and the rest of the fight Lara was running, big difference, and it’s important for fans to understand the distinction. In some parts of the fight it looked like Lara was scared to fight.

I read a comment saying that Lara could have pressed the action more… Here is the thing, the reason why Lara did not do more offensively is very simple. Because he couldn’t. Pernell Whitaker would make you miss and in return would land some clever punches from very unexpected angles. Mayweather will also make you pay for the slightest mistake that you make. After round 3, it was clear that Lara was weary of Canelo’s power and to some degree it even looked like he was uncomfortable in there. In other words, Lara was making Canelo miss but that’s it, not countering. Lara was not in the pocket because, at least from my point of view, he was scared to be countered himself.

For instance, take a look at punch stats. Lara out-landed Canelo by 10 punches, jabs, yet Canelo out-landed Lara by 33 power punches. To put it simply, Lara did not make a fight the punch stats will tell you so. He made Canelo miss, but in the words of J’Leon Love who was interviewed right after the fight, he says “You can’t win a fight by simply moving’, you have to move and hit.

I’m reading a lot about the history of the Cuban school of boxing, and how it’s superior to Mexico’s long history of champions. This topic is tricky because it’s up to what you like, aggression or slickness, and quiet frankly, how educated the fan is about the craft of boxing itself. Just because a boxer looks slick, it doesn’t mean that he’s going to beat a fighter with more basic fundamentals… the perfect example is Lara vs Angulo.

Another miss conception that a lot of fans are having is labeling Canelo a brawler… That’s the furthest thing from the truth. Canelo is a boxer puncher who carries the true lineage of the Mexican school of fighting. There is one punch that distinguishes Mexican fighters from the rest, the left hook to the body. It truly is a unique punch that Mexican fighters throw best. And in my opinion it was the most effective punch of the fight.

Lara is a good fighter but if he wanted to truly fight a fight to win undoubtedly he would have gotten knocked it, simply and plain. The small connects that Canelo made to his face where enough to bust up Lara very quickly. Lara made Canelo miss, but not to set him up.

Honestly, Lara did not do enough to win in my opinion.

Send comments to Hector Gonzalez at Hect59@hotmail.com



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