By Allan Fox: Former WBA super middleweight champion Anthony Mundine (45-5, 27 KO’s) is targeting WBA interim junior middleweight champion Erislandy Lara (19-1-2, 12 KO’s) for a fight in the near future. Mundine sees Lara as the guy that separates him from the WBA title, and he wants to beat him as soon as possible if he can get the fight against the Cuban.
Lara is coming off one of the biggest wins of his career in beating former WBA 154 lb. champion Austin Trout last December in Brooklyn, New York. Trout didn’t have the power or the fighting style to give Lara any problems in that bout, and it was one of Lara’s easier fights of his career.
Mundine said “My goal is to become the WBA 154 pound champ. That’s Lara. He has the belt right now. I want to get the WBA belt and that’s Lara. He destroyed Trout.”
Mundine can probably get the fight with Lara if he throws enough money at him. Whether he can beat him or not is another question. Lara’s fast, moves well, has good power and he throws his opponents off with his southpaw stance. To add to that he’s a very good counter puncher.
The only way for Mundine to beat Lara is for him to follow the blue print created by Alfredo Angulo by stalking Lara around the ring, and to focus on hitting him in the midsection as hard as possible each time you catch up with him. Lara is too slippery to hit to the head, but he’s vulnerable to the body and he doesn’t seem to take body shots well.
Mundine is a noted body puncher, but he’s definitely got the power to make Lara miserable if he can adapt his game in a training camp to change from being a head-hunter to a body puncher. If Mundine puts a ton of pressure on Lara for 12 rounds, he could wear him down and get a stoppage late if he hits him enough times to the body.
Mundine will be action this month against replacement opponent Gunnar Jackson (18-4-3, 6 KO’s) at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Boondall, Queensland, Australia. This is a stay busy fight for Mundine, as he’s trying to keep sharp while he waits for a fight against the likes of Lara.
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