Canelo Alvarez has become the standard bearer for Mexican boxing, so it's no small thing if fans believe he might be "scared" of an opponent. Mexican boxers have a proud tradition of taking on all comers, and showing bravery inside the squared circle even if a fight has become a dangerous, lost cause. Just ask Antonio Margarito.
So anyone who thinks Canelo didn't hear the chatter about him "fearing" Cuban slickster Erislandy Lara is sadly mistaken. Those rumors appear to be the top driving force behind Canelo's camp pushing for a Lara fight on July 12.
"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.
The Trout comparison is a good one. In April 2013 Canelo pushed for Trout to be his opponent, even though at the time Trout was undefeated, coming off an upset of Miguel Cotto at Madison Square Garden, and employed an awkward, southpaw, defensive-oriented style.
Alvarez handed Trout his first loss in a difficult fight, and sent him to the canvas for the first time in his career. Now, he's hoping to do the same to Lara.
One problem is that Lara is scheduled to face Ishe Smith on May 2-this fight may be so important to Alvarez that they're applying pressure for Lara to drop out of the matchup. Schaefer seemed reluctant to admit that's the case, but the writing is on the wall.
"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."
Canelo's certainly showing little fear of Lara, who has mouthed off repeatedly and even invaded Alvarez's post-Angulo presser to call him out. Lara has some big wins under his belt as well, most recently defeating Trout as well and forcing him to the canvas for the second time in his career.
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