(Photo credit: Lucas Noonan/Premier Boxing Champions) By Allan Fox: A weight-drained looking WBA World junior middleweight champion Erislandy Lara (20-2-1, 12 KOs) will be defending his title on Friday against ESPN regular Delvin Rodriguez (28-7-4, 16 KOs) in what is supposed to be a fairly easy fight for the 32-year-old Lara on Spike on Premier Boxing Champions at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois.
Lara appears to be struggling with the weight to get down to the 154 pound limit for Thursday’s weigh-in. Like Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, Lara tends to rehydrate into the 170s for his fights, and that gives him a weight advantage over his opposition.
In this case, Lara probably won’t need a weight advantage over Rodriguez because it’s a fight that Lara could win no matter what.
The Lara-Rodriguez card on Spike will start at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT. Also on the card is light heavyweight Artur Beterbiev (8-0, 8 KOs) facing Alexander Johnson (16-2, 7 KOs) in what should be an entertaining fight for as long as it lasts, and I don’t expect it to last more than three or four rounds at best.
“This is a great opportunity to show my skills on national television on Spike,” Lara said. “I’m going to be electrifying on fight night and the fans are going to see a spectacular performance from me.”
Unlike Lara’s recent fights against Ishe Smith and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in which he didn’t look that great, he should shine against Rodriguez. This is a mismatch on paper. Lara is the much better fighter. However, Rodriguez has good skills on the offensive side of his game, and he could make Lara look bad if he doesn’t step it up against him.
Lara will need to make some effort in this fight for him to win impressively. He won’t be able to stay in 1st gear and play it safe against Rodriguez because he’s going to have some pressure put on him.
Lara needs to win this fight with ease and look good for him to have a chance of getting the bigger fights that he’s wanted. He’s obviously not going to get another fight against Canelo. But Lara could face the likes of Demetrius Andrade and Cornelius Bundrage if he’s feeling motivated to take on some of the other champions at 154.
Rodriguez doesn’t have any pressure on him in this fight because his career has really gone downhill with him getting destroyed by Miguel Cotto in 2013. Rodriguez can play the part of a spoiler in this fight.
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