PREVIEW: JUNE
That bout ended with a controversial points defeat for the Cuban and since then he has struggled to land the big opportunities, pundits and fans believing he is avoided due to his awkward style and boxing ability. He is the definition of a high risk-low reward fighter. In recent years he has begun to get the recognition he has so long craved; yet it’s safe to say that he has flattered to deceive on more than one occasion when presented with the opportunity to impress; struggling to a draw against Martirosyan & being dropped against Angulo twice on the way to an eventual TKO victory.
The latter is a common foe of both fighters and whilst style’s often make fights there is some points to take from these fights. Canelo seemed to easily handly Angulo in his last fight; his inside work and punching power eventually wearing ‘Perro’ down on route to a 10th round stoppage. In that fight he showed that he had seemingly been working on a few new things in training; namely closing down the space and creating angles better than he had in his outing against Mayweather. Lara’s victory was somewhat more of a laboured one; unable to find any real rhythm throughout he had to rise off the canvas twice before stopping his foe. There are arguments to be made that the Angulo who fought Canelo was one far removed from that which fought Lara, however it is difficult to ignore the difficulties which the Cuban had with a come forward pressure fight who has far less technique than the Cinnamon kid.
The flip side of the ‘same opponent’ argument comes in Austin Trout. Again both defeated him, however on comparison this time it is Lara who came out looking better. He dealt with the American handidly; his southpaw stance and movement causing his opponent all kinds of problems. In that bout Lara showed why he is thought so highly of, his footwork and ability to control the range was excellent and left Trout falling short every time.
This for me is one of the most difficult fights to call in a while; a genuine 50/50 fight which sees two fighters with vastly different skills coming together…it is what boxing is all about.
For many people the Mayweather fight would indicate that Alvarez may be walking into another fight he simply cannot win. He struggled massively against Money May, unable to get to him all night despite his huge size advantage. Lara possesses a similar style to Floyd which is the basis for many conclusions that this one is heading in the same direction in terms of outcome. The speed and footwork advantages both lie with Lara as does stamina, with the young Mexican always seemingly struggling to maintain a decent pace over 12 rounds.
Yet ‘The American Dream’ does not hold the aces. Size, as is seemingly always the case, most certainly lies with Canelo. He is a huge 154 pounder, and with the fight set at a catchweight of 155 it may very well give him even more of an edge. With that size comes power; while not a pure knockout artist he does hold a slight edge over Lara in this attribute. It is often the accumulation of punches that take their toile on opponents; his ability on the inside a major factor and one which again he arguably stands in better stead than Lara in.
Image Cortesy of Tom Casino/Showtime