By Dan Ambrose: #4 WBO super featherweight contender Juan Manuel Lopez (34-3, 31 KO’s) will be fighting #2 Francisco Vargas (19-0-1, 13 KO’s) in a WBO 130lb title eliminator bout on July 12th on the undercard of the Erislandy Lara vs. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez card at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. The winner of the Lopez-Vargas fight will become the mandatory challenger for WBO super featherweight champion Mikey Garcia.
Lopez, 30, was destroyed by Mikey Garcia in 4 rounds last year in June in a fight that was a little more than a massacre. After that loss, Lopez was considered to be washed up and ready for the junk heap by a lot of boxing fans of the sport. However, Lopez was able to get in excellent shape and come and destroy Danel Ponce De Leon in two rounds last March in an impressive performance by Lopez in Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez, Bayamon, Puerto Rico.
By Dan Ambrose: Former WBA/WBC light middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’s 4-city press tour with Erislandy Lara (19-1-2, 12 KO’s) will kickoff tomorrow [Tuesday, May 6th], in Los Angeles, California at the El Pueblo Historical Monument. From there, Canelo and Lara’s tour will travel to San Antonio, Texas on May 7th, New York City on May 8th, and then wrap up the tour on May 9th in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
By Dan Ambrose: Erislandy Lara’s WBA junior middleweight title won’t be on the line for his fight against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (43-1-1, 31 KO’s) on July 12th, according to Boxrec.com. Canelo has previously said that he wasn’t interested in fighting for Lara’s WBA title, because he feels that WBA Super World welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. is the real WBA 154lb champion, not Lara. 
By Dan Ambrose: Boxing fans just finished seeing Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (43-1-1, 31 KO’s) get clowned badly by Floyd Mayweather Jr. last September in a fight that was totally one-sided from start to finish. Now after taking an easy fight against Alfredo Angulo, which really wasn’t what you would call a real fight, Canelo is stepping it up against the Mayweather-esque WBA light middleweight champion Erislandy Lara (19-1-2, 12 KO’s) on July 12th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. 
By Dan Ambrose: As I expected, the July 12th fight between WBA junior middleweight champion Erislandy Lara and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez won’t have Lara’s WBA 154lb title on the line for the fight, because Canelo doesn’t want to fight for it. So instead of this being a junior middleweight fight, it’s going to take place in the middleweight division at 155lbs.
By Dan Ambrose: Yesterday, WBA junior middleweight champion Erislandy Lara (19-1-2, 12 KO’s) and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (43-1-1, 31 KO’s) both revealed that they’ll be facing each other on July 12th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. They both want to give boxing fans the fight that they most want to see, and that’s why they’ve agreed to face each other in this pay-per-view fight on Showtime. Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer says he sees this fight as a tossup fight, and he’s unable to pick the winner.
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. 
By Dan Ambrose: Eddy Reynoso, the trainer and manager for former WBA/WBC light middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (43-1-1, 31 KO’s), is saying that WBA junior middleweight champion Erislandy Lara (19-1-2, 12 KO’s) is one of the leading candidates for the red-haired Canelo’s next fight in July. Carlos Molina and James Kirkland are also candidates, however.
By Dan Ambrose: WBA World light middleweight champion Erislandy Lara (19-1-2, 12 KO’s) will be defending his title for the first time against the recently beaten IBF 154lb champion Ishe Smith (25-6, 11 KO’s) on May 2nd at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. The fight will be televised by Fox Sports 1 and Fox Deportes instead of Showtime.