By: Sean Crose
Erislandy Lara is known as the “American Dream” for a reason. Arriving in the United States from repressive Cuba, the lean and skilled Lara has established himself as one of the sport’s top fighters for at least the past decade. Now, at forty-one, the veteran former champion will face another name that was prominent a decade ago—the still-popular Philly fighter Danny Garcia. Their scheduled 12-round bout will be on the undercard of Saturday night’s Canelo Alvarez-Edgar Berlanga pay-per-view. It’s been a while since Lara or Garcia has been at the top of the sport, but it should still be an interesting fight.
Lara, after all, comes from the Cuban school of boxing, which means the man fights in a slick, polished style that can frustrate and overwhelm opponents. However, Lara has shown that he can also hit when he needs to. Three of his last four fights (all wins) have ended in narrow knockouts. Furthermore, the three losses in Lara’s 30-3-3 record have come against the gloved punches of Paul Williams, Jarrett Hurd and Canelo. Indeed, there are those – this writer included – who feel that Lara should get the nod for his fight with Canelo.
As for Garcia, the 36-year-old has had an impressive career. While he may have lost close fights to the likes of Errol Spence, Shawn Porter and Keith Thurman, Garcia has beaten notables like Amir Khan, Zab Judah, Lucas Matthysse, Erik Morales and more. Simply put, the man has earned the respect and praise he receives. However, he has not fought in over two years, which makes us wonder how the aging former champion will fare in the ring against another aging former champion in Lara this weekend.
No big deal, really. Sure, these two are out of date, but this fight would answer the core question of any worthwhile boxing match: Who’s better? When it comes to fighters everyone knows (even older guys), the question becomes a lot more compelling. Truth be told, some might argue that Lara-Garcia is a more compelling fight on paper than Canelo-Berlanga, which seems like a one-sided fight from Canelo. Boxing is boxing, you never know. But a fight between two big names is always going to be interesting. And Lara-Garcia would be a fight between two big names who have been around for quite some time.
Image: PBC
