Canelo-Erislandy - it's on

Following my previous Fat Eddie vs Hughie Fury blunder, I have first checked the date, and being completely sure that this isn't an April Fool's Joke, I can confirm that Erislandy Lara has confirmed he will be fighting Saul Alvarez on the twelfth of July.

Thoughts on this clash - no post on it being for a title, either.

Canelo tight decision for me.

The 12th of July was the first thing that stood out.

Canelo wants to be on PPV and that means being in good match ups.

I'd make Lara the favourite.

Got to hand it to Canelo - he's starting to live up to this tag of being 'the next De la Hoya.' He's not the fighter Oscar was, don't get me wrong, but he and his team have the same approach as the Golden Boy and obviously don't fear failure. Considering how convenient it would be for the money men of the sport to keep him winning, a run of Trout, Mayweather, Angulo and Lara in succession is pretty ballsy matchmaking - I love it.

Depends which Lara turns up, the one who fought Molina and Angulo or the one who fought williams and Trout

Think Canelo is still improving and should draw on his experiences against floyd, as Lara is slick but not that slick

Go for Canelo by tight if not slightly controversial decision

Easy nights for my boy Erislandy Lara. 

Slick southpaw, many leagues above Trout who gave Alvarez all he could handle. 

Unless Oscar hires the same judges as the Lara-Williams fight, Lara beats Alvarez 120-108. Easy as pie.

Fraid we are going to disagree Gerry, while Lara is very good he's a tier below Alvarez.

Lara struggled with Angulo whereas Alvarez went through him. Alvarez for me is going to get better and better and we'll see this continue in July.

Should be a good close fight and they should be applauded for making the biggest fight in the division

Fair play to Alvarez for taking this fight. Trout and Lara are the kind of fighters that are usually avoided by boxers in Alvarez position. I do generally think that they dont take these kind of fights without appropriate insurance though. Lara is going to need to box rings around Alvarez to get a decision. They will be looking to give Alvarez the fight just as when he fought Trout. Hell even Mayweather had to settle for a draw on one card against him.

Elpondo wrote:Fraid we are going to disagree Gerry, while Lara is very good he's a tier below Alvarez.

Lara struggled with Angulo whereas Alvarez went through him. Alvarez for me is going to get better and better and we'll see this continue in July.

Should be a good close fight and they should be applauded for making the biggest fight in the division

You mean Alvarez beat Angulo, after Lara took it all from him?

Angulo was destroyed after Lara broke up his eye. 

Simple as.

Funny to think Az used to say how Canelo ducked fighters.

I fancy alverez, I don't think Lara is as elusive as people make out. Alverez to catch him intermittently with his combos, eventually taking a toll an a late stoppage.
Props either way to Alverez for taking the fight everyone thought he'd avoid.

I should add that I'd expect Lara to make alverez look slow ponderous and terrible at times. Lara's better footwork will be on show, but I just think alverez will catch up with him, and let the combos and his 20 lb advantage will swing it.

Delighted with this. It's a pick 'em fight. Props to both guys for taking it. If Lara wins he could be in line for a Mayweather shot? Something tells me Canelo has a bit more though.

Lara may not have Mayweather's defense, but he is bigger, fresher and far more powerful.

I'm going out on a limb and picking a Lara KO.

Watch Canelo mess him up now I've said that.

John Bloody Wayne wrote:Lara may not have Mayweather's defense, but he is bigger, fresher and far more powerful.

I'm going out on a limb and picking a Lara KO.

Watch Canelo mess him up now I've said that.

Much easier to hit though. I think the best single fight case study you can do on Lara is his fight against Angulo. He looks utterly tremendous in the first round and at other points, but somehow Angulo can tag him and drag him in to a fight that had no business being close. That fight shows Lara's many great attributes, but also underlines some weaknesses.

I've actually been really impressed by Canelo in his last few bouts. Even against Mayweather - where everyone else just seemed to pan him - I though he showed great glimpses of defensive subtlety that I didn't know he had. He was just up against an ATG opponent that night, that's all.

I'm loving the hard-matched route that Canelo is taking. I'd say he'll win a good bit more of these tough matches than he loses. Someone mentioned ODLH above. Seems like the career he's going for. Might not win all the big fights, but he's always in big fights.

Canelo deserves immense credit for choosing Lara. While he needed a quality opponent in order to justify the second of three PPV dates he's locked into this year, there were easier routes for him to take (one of which he attempted in offering big money to Cotto - who elected to face Martinez instead).

Canelo has also insisted the fight isn't for a title as Floyd is the champion. A glimmer of hope for those of us who think along similar - logical - lines.

Chuffed for Lara, too. He finally gets his big fight.

Similarly, you could say the single best fight for a case stufy on how Alvarez will do is Trout. Showed fundamental class, but couldn't put a decisive stamp on it at all, and Lara's an all round better version. Alvarez punches landed vs Mayweather and Trout were similar, both vastly lower than against his usual opp.

Lara will have learned from his difficult victory over Angulo as will Alvarez over Trout.

I'm rather undecided with this bout. Lara is my favorite 154lbs fighter, and I would dearly love to see him have a crack at Mayweather. On the other hand - I like Canelo too, and a victory for him would be great for boxing - coming back from a defeat and taking on top tenners back to back - with a fight possibly against Martinez, or former 154 champ Cotto to follow. Makes a welcome change from the likes of Kell Brook attaining a #4 ranking having beaten bob the milkman, and Dende the Busboy... Giving Lara the advantage.

John Bloody Wayne wrote:Similarly, you could say the single best fight for a case stufy on how Alvarez will do is Trout. Showed fundamental class, but couldn't put a decisive stamp on it at all, and Lara's an all round better version.

I wasn't saying it as a comparison between both of their respective performances - I just thought, as a single fight, it summed up Lara's strengths and weaknesses well. He really looked like a world beater at points in that fight, but inexplicably got dropped three times by a guy he's better than.

Anyway, you're statement is probably fair enough. It's just that I watched the Lara-Angulo fight recently and was getting quite into analysing it  

Don't get me wrong I do agree that it is, so far, the closest thing he has to a "defining" fight. Doesn't hurt that it was a good one to watch!