Lara vs. Foreman 1/13 PBC on Spike Show Finds a Home
By Jake Donovan
As the brass at Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) piece together its 2017 1st quarter schedule, venues are being secured for those already on the docket.
The first of four confirmed shows for January was the last to find a home, but that problem has been solved. The January 13 PBC on Spike TV telecast - topped by Erislandy Lara in a super welterweight title defense versus former beltholder Yuri Foreman - will air live from the Hialeah Park Ampitheatre in Hialeah, Florida.
News of the development was first revealed by veteran boxing scribe Mitch Abramson.
Lara (23-2-2, 13KOs) will attempt the sixth defense of the title he claimed in a come-from-behind, off-the-canvas 10th round injury stoppage of Alfredo Angulo in June '13. The 33-year old Cuban southpaw - who now lives and trains in Houston, Texas - had just one fight in 2015, a disputed points win over Vanes Martirosyan in their rematch this past May. The bout was every bit as close - and inconclusive - as their initial clash in Nov. '12, which ended in a technical decision draw after Martirosyan couldn't continue due to a cut suffered from an accidental headbutt in the 9th round of their HBO-televised affair.
Overall, Lara has won four straight and is unbeaten in nine of his last ten starts. The lone loss came at the hands of Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez in their July '14 catchweight bout. Because Alvarez requested a 155 lb. weight limit, Lara's super welterweight belt was not at stake, thus remaining champion despite the narrow points loss in a bout where several plead the case of his deserving the nod.
What he definitely deserves is a better promotional push.
His four defenses since that loss have come against the type of opposition that few others in the division are in a hurry to face, outpointing the likes of Ishe Smith, Delvin Rodriguez and Martirosyan in bouts that aren't exactly queued up in the rotation of the average boxing fan. His lone stoppage of the bunch came in a 3rd round blitzing of Jan Zaveck, which took place last November in the same section that will host his next bout. The outdoor venue suffered a major hit when torrential downpours delayed the pre-Thanksgiving PBC on ESPN card, which was reduced to a one-bout telecast as a result.
The next opponent in his career will do little from a marketing standpoint to raise his profile any. Formean (34-2, 10KOs) has managed six wins spanning two career comebacks following back-to-back stoppage losses to Miguel Cotto (June '10) and Pawel Wolak (March '11).
A grand total of none of those victories have suggested he belongs back on the title stage. In fact, most industry supporters still bear the memory of his limping around on one leg as Cotto picked him apart en route to ending his title reign at Yankee Stadium without posting a single successful defense after his upset title win over Daniel Santos the prior November.
The Brooklyn-based Belarusian took a two-year break following the loss to Walek, returning in Jan. '13 and peeling off three straight wins over pedestrian opposition before once again fading off into the sunset. He returned last December in his adopted Brooklyn homeland, posting an eight-round win at Barclays Center, which was followed by a 2nd round stoppage of barely .500 clubfighter Jason Davis last June in Queens, New York.
Lara fights for the fourth time in his career in Florida, and makes his second appearance on the PBC on Spike circuit. His lone other showing came in his aforementioned win over Rodriguez in June '14.
Neither the show itself or the supporting undercard has yet to be formally announced by the PBC team, but the event is very much etched in stone. The show will mark the 2017 debut for the PBC series, entering its third year and at a make-or-break point in terms of going long-term. A disappointing second-year run included the decision to go dark for the entire 4th quarter, save for the December 10 telecast on Showtime, which included Lara's stablemate Jermall Charlo scoring a highlight-reel 5th round stoppage of previously unbeaten Julian "J-Rock" Williams and Abner Mares becoming a four-time titlist following a 12-round points win over Jesus Cuellar.
The PBC movement hits the ground running in 2017, however, as four shows are already on tap. The January 13 telecast kicks off the run that also includes a pair of attractive Showtime cards (Badou Jack vs. James DeGale, January 14th; Carl Frampton vs. Leo Santa Cruz (rematch), January 28th) and recently crowned titlists and stablemates Robert Easter Jr. and Rau'Shee Warren in separate title defenses on a January 27 PBC on Bounce TV show live from Easter's hometown in Toledo, Ohio.
at putting this nonsense on PBC on Spike while Easter Jr and Warren are put on PBC on Bounce..something is very wrong with this
at thinking of the amount of fukkery if Lara loses his belt to Foreman
" would suffice.