Canelo Alvarez

(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (43-1-1, 31KO’s) must be commended for taking this fight with Erislandy Lara (19-1-2, 12KO’s). Lara, the Cuban defector, is as slick a southpaw as there is and stylistically looks to be a nightmare for the 23 year old Canelo who is looking to maintain the momentum he gained against Alfredo Angulo in March earlier this year.

Lara is himself coming off a convincing display against fellow left-hander Austin Trout in December 2013. Both Trout and Angulo are common opponents of Canelo and Lara, so we have two instances where they are directly comparable.

(Picture credit: Hogan Photos) By Dan Ambrose: Former WBA/WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (43-1-1, 31 KO’s) will be getting a guaranteed $1.5 million for his fight on Saturday night against Cuba’s Erislandy Lara (19-1-2, 12 KOs) on Showtime pay-per-view.

Canelo, 23, could wind up with a lot more than the guaranteed money though, because this is before the pay-per-view sales, as well as the money that Canelo will likely receive from Mexican television money. It’s likely that Canelo will eventually wind up with considerably more than the $1.5 million of guaranteed money.

(Picture credit: Hogan Photos) By Dan Ambrose: After being schooled badly by Floyd Mayweather Jr last September, you’d have thought that Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (43-1-, 31 KOs) would have learned his lesson by now that he can’t afford to try and box slick fighters like Erislandy Lara (19-1-2, 12 KO’s), but that’s what the 23-year-old is hinting that he’ll be doing on Saturday night in their middleweight pay-per-view match on Showtime from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Canelo said “How will I beat him? With speed, movement and combinations.”

Speed is the way last way that the slow-footed, 170+ pound Canelo is going to beat a fast Cuban fighter like Lara, and if that’s the only plan that he and his trainer Chepo Reynoso have come up with in the last two months of training for this fight then Canelo is probably heading for a serious clowning on Saturday night.

By Bakary “Deus Ex” Sanou: Over the past few days you have probably read everywhere that people were picking Erislandy Lara (19-1-2, 12 KO’s) to upset Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (43-1-1, 31 KOs) or at least saying that it’s a 50-50 fight. Here are the 2 reasons why this is not true.

1. Canelo is the A-side fighter

The A-side fighter is the one who has the ability to pick his opponent. For example, Floyd Mayweather Jr has always been the A-side fighter – except against Oscar De La Hoya. I could talk about the fact that the A-side fighter can choose: the place, the size of the ring, the gloves, the referee and the judges. But I rather focus on a simpler thing:

By Dan Ambrose: Ronnie Shields, the trainer for Erislandy Lara (19-1-2, 12 KO’s) isn’t impressed with the boxing skills or the stamina of former WBA/WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (43-1-1, 31 KO’s), and Shields just sees Canelo as a one-dimensional fighter who has taken advantage of his power and size advantage over his smaller opposition during his short pro career.

Shields notes that Canelo fades quickly in his fights, and he stops throwing combinations once he starts gassing out in the second half of his fights. Canelo can still punch with major power, but he become a punch at a time fighter from the 6th round on.

(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) By Raymundo Roman: Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (43-1-1, 31 KOs) will be facing the Cuban Erislandy Lara (19-1-2, 12 KOs) this Saturday night in a cathweight fight of 155 lb. in the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

This is a fight that many boxing fans are waiting for because is a 50/50 fight that could go either way and this is good for boxing because lately at the elite level the fighters are match carefully not risking future paydays or fights, on this one you have to give Canelo a lot of credit because he could have taken a soft fight and wait for Cotto or a big fight with low risk and high reward, but he choose to gave the fans what they want.

(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) By Dan Ambrose: WBA junior middleweight champion Erislandy Lara (19-1-2, 12 KO’s) feels that Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (43-1-1, 31 KOs) has a big ego and far too much for his limited talent. Lara says he wants to knock Canelo down a peg to make him more humble when they face each other this Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Lara normally doesn’t study his opponents, but he took a look at the 23-year-old Canelo’s last two fights against Alfredo Angulo and Floyd Mayweather Jr, and he saw plenty of holes in Canelo’s game that he can take advantage of.

By Jay McIntyre: This article is an abbreviated one, to see the full version with illustrations and discussion please visit my blog: http://a-neutral-corner.blogspot.ca/2014/07/my-two-cents-alvarez-vs-lara.html
Follow me on Twitter: @JayMcintyre83

A fight like this just makes sense. The number one and number two fighters in the light middleweight division are fighting for what is essentially pride. There are no major world titles. There are no guarantees afterward.

There is just a powerful need for both men to determine what they are worth. This truly is a fight for the fans, because when Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Erislandy Lara step through the ropes against one another, two fighters at their peak will be trading leather.