A fight boxing fans have wanted for quite some time is finally being discussed-sorry, not Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, but a fight involving possibly the third biggest name in the sport. Canelo Alvarez's camp is currently in talks for a July 12 fight with Cuban slickster Erislandy Lara.
Canelo insists Lara crashing presser won't affect chances of getting fight
Lara was set to take on Ishe Smith on May 2, but will likely back out of that fight with an Alvarez clash on the table. Lara has been vocal about Alvarez ducking him, so the matchup should please the underrated pugilist and informed boxing observers who have followed Lara's rise for years. It also should bolster Alvarez's credibility with fans as someone who accepts tough challenges-it should be noted he also pushed for a fight with little-known southpaw Austin Trout.
"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," Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer said.
Lara thinks Canelo's "scared" to take him on
In an odd bit of posturing, this fight likely won't be for a belt since Alvarez isn't interested in Lara's WBA junior middleweight strap.
"Canelo thinks Floyd is the champion. Floyd beat Canelo and Canelo thinks Floyd is the champion, so how can Lara be a champion," Schaefer said. "So Canelo doesn't want it for a title so it won't be a title fight, but if Lara wants to defend the title he can pay the sanction fees. But Canelo said he doesn't want to fight for the title."
Schaefer indicated there may be hiccups in the proceedings, but he's trying to push the fight through as soon as possible so they can organize a media tour as they did for Alfredo Angulo.
So I have begun negotiations with Team Lara. I've been working on it with [Lara adviser] Al [Haymon] and we have made an offer. We are going back and forth and my hope would be the negotiation could be concluded swiftly. We're a little bit apart but if everyone will give a little bit we can get this done, Schaefer said.
As for the Smith fight? It appears Ishe may just be out of luck. "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."
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