HamAndEgger
All Star
Canelo Alvarez isn't shying away from facing the guy perceived to be the most dangerous potential opponent at 154 pounds, as he and Golden Boy are reportedly working to finalize a deal to face Erislandy Lara on Showtime pay-per-view in July.
Alvarez (43-1-1, 31 KO) made his A-side PPV debut on March 8, ripping Alfredo Angulo in the main event of a show that did solid numbers. Golden Boy and Showtime also pulled some strings and have moved up Canelo's date from July 26 to July 12, which meant that the MGM Grand had to cancel a concert scheduled for that date. The reason is obvious: Top Rank and K2 are working to finalize a July 19 HBO pay-per-view featuring Julio Cesar Chavez Jr and Gennady Golovkin. Golden Boy and Richard Schaefer obviously want to get ahead of that fight, so they've leapfrogged up.
There is also the possibility of Lara (19-1-2, 12 KO) pulling out of a scheduled WBA title defense against Ishe Smith on May 2. From ESPN.com:
"We are talking about what we want to do," Schaefer said. "Would we pull him out to have him ready for the promotion? That's part of the negotiations and discussions. I can't tell you what's going to happen because I don't have it done. But if you want to put together a major pay-per-view, the dates are a bit too close."
The risk, of course, is that Smith could in theory upset Lara (however unlikely), or something as simple as a cut or some other relatively minor injury that wouldn't be ready for a July 12 fight, in order to get in a training camp and be prepared like Lara would want to be.
Schaefer also says that Canelo is again looking to prove he's not trying to be coddled and doesn't want to avoid anyone:
Alvarez (43-1-1, 31 KO) made his A-side PPV debut on March 8, ripping Alfredo Angulo in the main event of a show that did solid numbers. Golden Boy and Showtime also pulled some strings and have moved up Canelo's date from July 26 to July 12, which meant that the MGM Grand had to cancel a concert scheduled for that date. The reason is obvious: Top Rank and K2 are working to finalize a July 19 HBO pay-per-view featuring Julio Cesar Chavez Jr and Gennady Golovkin. Golden Boy and Richard Schaefer obviously want to get ahead of that fight, so they've leapfrogged up.
There is also the possibility of Lara (19-1-2, 12 KO) pulling out of a scheduled WBA title defense against Ishe Smith on May 2. From ESPN.com:
"We are talking about what we want to do," Schaefer said. "Would we pull him out to have him ready for the promotion? That's part of the negotiations and discussions. I can't tell you what's going to happen because I don't have it done. But if you want to put together a major pay-per-view, the dates are a bit too close."
The risk, of course, is that Smith could in theory upset Lara (however unlikely), or something as simple as a cut or some other relatively minor injury that wouldn't be ready for a July 12 fight, in order to get in a training camp and be prepared like Lara would want to be.
Schaefer also says that Canelo is again looking to prove he's not trying to be coddled and doesn't want to avoid anyone:
"Canelo made it clear that his first choice is Lara because a lot of people, fans and media, feel he would be afraid of fighting somebody with the skills of Erislandy Lara, the same way people thought he wouldn't fight Austin Trout. And you saw what happened."
http://www.badlefthook.com/2014/4/8...islandy-lara-looking-probably-for-july-12-ppv
http://www.badlefthook.com/2014/4/8...islandy-lara-looking-probably-for-july-12-ppv
