By Dan Ambrose: Former WBA/WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’s May 2nd fight against Ishe Smith is now off. Instead, Canelo will be challenging WBA junior middleweight champion Erislandy Lara (19-1-2, 12 KO’s) for his title on July 12th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, according to Fightnews.
Canelo Alvarez said this on his twitter today: “Ready! July 12, 2014 – Canelo vs. Lara. We are going to give you what you want.”
It’s not as if Canelo had a lot of options for his next fight. A fight against IBF 154lb champion Carlos Molina would be a very iffy thing due to his legal problems, and there probably wouldn’t be much more interest in a fight between Canelo and him than there was for Canelo’s last fight against Alfredo Angulo.
Oscar De La Hoya said on his twitter “Canelo vs. Lara, July 12, are you ready? @GoldenBoyBoxing stacked undercard., Who would you like to see on the undercard?”
This could be another Floyd Mayweather Jr. type of nightmare for the flat-footed, red-haired Canelo. Lara is the closest thing to Mayweather than any fighter in boxing right now, and we just saw Canelo fail famously in his loss to Mayweather Jr. last September in Las Vegas. Lara is way too close to Mayweather with his fighting style. and I have a strong feeling that we’re going to see the 23-year-old Canelo get clowned again in front of the entire nation.
ESPN’s Teddy Atlas is picking Lara to beat Canelo, and I agree with him.
“I like Lara. His only problem is he’s not active enough,” Atlas told esnewsreporting. “I think he’s a more complete fighter [than Canelo]. He’s more experienced from the amateurs to the pros. I think he’s more sound. I think that would be a very, very, very difficult fight for Canelo.”
This is a good fight for Lara, and it be his breakout fight to make him a superstar. A big win over Canelo will go long ways to making Lara a household name, and if he can get a rematch with Canelo, it’ll be even better for him.
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