By: Sean Crose
Canelo Alvarez and Edgar Berlanga meet this Saturday night in Las Vegas as the main event of a pay-per-view show. Most people expect Canelo to win, and for good reason. Canelo may be a little old in the literal sense, but there’s no denying that a Berlanga victory would be a real shock to the fighting world. The truth is that this weekend’s co-main event, not the main event, might be the more interesting fight on Mexican Independence Day weekend. While Erislandy Lara and Danny Garcia may be a little old in the same way as Canelo, they’ve been around long enough to have built very successful careers for themselves.
Garcia has made a name for himself through his counterpunching ability. He has beaten a number of big-name opponents over the years, including Lucas Matthysse, Lamont Peterson and Amir Khan. And the fights he has lost have all been extremely close contests against the likes of Keith Thurman, Errol Spence and Shawn Porter. Oh, and the Philly native can hit. Khan, Paulie Malignaggi and Brandon Rios can all attest to how hard the fighter nicknamed “Swift” can hit. While not known as a knockout artist, Garcia could break into the spotlight if given the chance.
As for Lara, he is one of the most underrated fighters of the past decade or so. Back in the day, there was talk that he would actually fight Mayweather, although that seems unlikely. Despite his nickname “The American Dream,” Lara knows how to fight like a Cuban (he did, after all, flee Cuba to the United States). However, Lara is more than just slippery. The veteran has knocked out four of his last five opponents. Like Garcia, Lara is not known as a knockout artist. However, like Garcia, Lara can end the night early when given the chance.
So, who will win on Saturday night? The truth is, as good as he is, I have never seen Garcia better than Lara. Unless one or both fighters suddenly become experts on Saturday night, I expect Lara to prevail in what will be a VERY close fight. However, I see the judges giving the win to Garcia. He is just the favorite of the two, and things like that can unfortunately make a difference in the world of boxing.
Still, it would be great to see these professional boxers fight each other in the ring. Their match was truly the best match of the week.
