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One of the most anticipated fights of the year will be taking place at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, when Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez takes on Erislandy Lara. Join The Roar for live round-by-round updates and commentary from 11:00am AEST.
This fight is a true throw-back to the golden age of boxing where the best would take on the best, losses weren’t the end of a career but the development of a fighter, and the business side of the sport was a secondary concern.
Canelo Alvarez, universally loved and seen as boxing’s future superstar, has stepped up to the challenge set by the most dangerous fighter to his career, Erislandy Lara.
Canelo made his professional debut at 15 and won his first title at 20. Lara on the other hand is pure boxing pedigree, having learnt his craft in Cuba and being heavily favoured to win gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics before defecting to the United States to pursue a professional career.
Although eight years separates the two, their records are near identical. Testament to this, Lara and Alvarez have both beaten big hitters and serious contenders, Austin Trout and Alfredo Angulo, in the exact same fashion.
Having lost the biggest fights of their careers to date provides further evidence to the evenness of this fight and the need for both to win.
Lara was the victim of bad scoring against Paul Williams in 2011, and Alvarez was outboxed by Floyd Mayweather last year in a fight probably three years before time for Canelo.
Golden Boy Promotions have produced a really strong undercard for the fight, with some reputable boxers coming off losses; it’s the bill of revivals.
Mauricio Herrera will look to correct his questionable loss to Danny Garcia in March by putting away Johan Perez early. Juan Manuel Lopez’s forward, flurrying style will provide an entertaining fight against the fast fisted Francisco Vargas. Abner Mares is looking to reinstate his reputation as a serious top-tier featherweight after losing to Jhonny Gonzalez last year by a first round KO.
At a time where associations, promoters, belts and interims are finally starting to be ignored and people are more interested in the purity of the best facing the best, boxing benefits greatly from this fight.
With the prospect of the winner getting a change at Miguel Cotto or Mayweather, two of the most dominant fighters around, this is the just the beginning of a new golden era of boxing, an age of honor and glory.
Predictions:
Lara – majority decision
Herrera – TKO
Vargas – unanimous decision
Mares – KO
Let’s get ready to rumble! Pick a fighter and place your bets with PlayUp for great odds. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.