Canelo-Lara Staff Picks in Favor of Canelo

0
1321

It’s fight day in Las Vegas as Erislandy Lara gets his chance at stardom when he takes on Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez. Here are the current Las Vegas odds: Alvarez -225 vs Lara +175.

Its a pick em’ fight in most eyes, here’s how the staff at ThaBoxingVoice.com see the fight playing out.

Nestor Gibbs: Lara

Lara has both more amateur and pro experience. He has the better resume, he’s fought the better fighter, and  he’s a southpaw which is a style that gave Canelo lots of trouble against Austin Trout. Lara can be hit but he’s just the bottom line, a better boxer.

Robert Ortiz: Canelo

A true 50/50 pick ’em fight. Canelo struggled but defeated Trout. Canelo dominated Angulo. Lara dominated Trout. Lara struggled but defeated Angulo.

I tend to think that Lara is a better version of Trout, which isnt good for Canelo. But I will be picking Canelo for no other reason than I think he’s just a little better. Outside of the Mayweather fight, his team creates great game plans. I’m not confident, I just think he has it.

Julio Garcia: Canelo

Canelo-Lara is an interesting fight. Canelo can box and mix it up. He has speed, power and youth on his side. Lara has tremendous boxing abilities and can beat opponents silly with powerful counter shots. Lara has to stay busy and not pot-shot too much. Canelo has to fight the way he did against Angulo.I love watching both fighters but I feel Canelo will be able to hurt Lara and drop him more than Angulo did and eventually stop him before the ninth round is over. Result: Canelo by KO/TKO.

 

Joe Habeeb:  Lara

This fight kind of reminds me of the bull versus the matador. I see Lara being very elusive in this fight and frustrating Alvarez much the same way Floyd Mayweather did last May. Although this fight is looked upon as a 50/50 fight on paper, I can see Lara pulling away in the second half of the fight. I think Lara’s movement and foot speed will really trouble Alvarez.

There is only one Floyd Mayweather but I think that Lara can and will be able to do some of the same things that Mayweather was so successful at. Lara is very crafty and he is very effective at using feints and setting traps for his opponents. He is one of the best counter punchers in the sport, and I believe that his counterpunching will be the determining factor in this fight just as it was for Mayweather last year against Alvarez.

With all that being said, one thing that I think people are overlooking in this fight is Lara’s punching power. He is a sharpshooter with his straight left hand and has shown the ability to land it at will and hurt many opponents with it. This is what I believe will be the X factor in this fight and unlike Mayweather I feel that Lara can actually hurt Alvarez.

I see the quicker, slicker, and craftier Lara outfoxing Alvarez and winning a clear cut decision, possibly 9-3 or 8-4.

 

Daniel Gonzalez: Canelo

When comparing the two fighters it’s clear that Lara is the better boxer of the too. With slick movement and precise punches there is no doubt that Lara can cause “Canelo” fits reminiscent of his time against Mayweather. The thing to remember though is that Lara is far from being Mayweather, and that is due to his emotional nature in the ring and a propensity to get lured into fire fights. It’s a dangerous tendency, especially going into this bout with the much harder punching Alvarez. It’s going to be a close bout from bell-to-bell, but Alvarez’ power punches are ultimately what is going to slow Lara down and win him a close but unanimous decision.

 

Victor Salazar: Canelo

Canelo is my choice in this fight mainly because of the way Alfredo Angulo handled Erislandy Lara in their bout last year. Make no mistake, Erislandy Lara is good but a lot of people tend to overrate him because he’s Cuban. Lara can move but he’s also suceptible to traps if you anticipate his movement. Angulo did that with short subtle forward steps cutting off the ring. Canelo has better footwork and faster hands than Angulo and i think he’s smart enough to set traps to rip shots to the body of Lara.

People can point to Canelo’s Trout fight where they say he struggled with a craft southpaw. But let’s be real, that was Canelo’s first real test and with each fight he has grown from it. And for all of that, Lara has also been in fights where he hasn’t impressed, much like his fight with Carlos Molina and Vanes Martirosyan. Both fights were draws but it could be argued he lost the Molina fight as i did see him losing.

If Lara does win, it will be because his movement has frustarted Canelo enough to chase instead of cutting off the ring, which his stamina issues may come to light. But i think Canelo is smart enough to press the action and fast enough to land, pinning Lara on the ropes in the late rounds and stopping him.

Canelo-4 Lara 2