The build up to Canelo Alvarez vs. Erislandy Lara has been filled with noise, the majority of which has come from Lara's side. Now the time has come for the talking to end and the fists to fly; live stream the entire Showtime card online at 9:00 p.m. ET by clicking this link. On television fans can order it on pay-per-view.
Alvarez is a -240 favorite to defeat Lara tonight, but the confident underdog has said throughout the promotion of the bout that he expects to take Alvarez to "Cuban school." Lara's a very slick fighter, known for counterpunching and defense thanks to years as a Cuban amateur.
"The Cuban school is the best school in boxing. You see the Olympics, the World Championships, the Pan-American Games ... Cubans win the most medals. That's shown throughout history," Lara said at their final press conference. He also expressed zero concern about Canelo's size advantage over him.
"I'm not worried about that," Lara said. "Every fighter I've fought has been heavier than me and I've been able to deal with them. Everyone goes into the ring how they feel comfortable. I have no problem with him blowing up to whatever he wants."
Lara's chatter has served him well-in fact it's the reason Alvarez decided to face him. Lara is not a great opponent for high-end stars like Alvarez because of his difficult style and limited exposure. However all the talk incited the Mexican star to no end.
"Lara's a good 154-pounder, and I'm going to give him credit for that. But this fight is about the glory and the honor," Alvarez said. "I'm fighting this fight because of the trash that Erislandy Lara talked these last couple of months, and I'm going fight him on July 12, and I'm going to shut him up."
Prediction: Canelo Alvarez def. Erislandy Lara by KO (Rd. 11) Lara's style will flummox Alvarez early, but eventually Canelo will land a power shot that will rock Lara. From that point Canelo's persistent combinations will wear Lara down until he gets caught flush as he did against Alfredo Angulo.
Full fight card:
Canelo Alvarez (43-1-1; 31 KOs) vs. Erislandy Lara (19-1-2; 12 KOs) - Junior Middleweight (154 lbs.) Abner Mares (26-1-1; 14 KOs) vs. Jonathan Oquendo (24-3; 16 KOs) - Featherweight (126 lbs.)
Juan Manuel Lopez (34-3; 31 KOs) vs. Francisco Vargas (19-0-1; 13 KOs) - WBO Super Featherweight title bout (130 lbs.)
Johan Perez (19-1-1; 13 KOs) vs. Mauricio Herrera (20-4; 7 KOs) - Interim WBO Junior Welterweight title bout (140 lbs.)
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