By Osman Rodriguez
Junior middleweight Erislandy Lara (16-1-1, 11KOs) wants the opportunity to fight WBC champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (40-0-1, 29KOs) on September 15th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Alvarez was scheduled to fight Victor Ortiz, who suffered an upset loss and a broken jaw to Josesito Lopez on Saturday night. Ortiz joins a list, which includes Paul Williams and James Kirkland, of fighters who were scheduled to fight Canelo and due to unforseen circumstances they were withdrawn from the slot.
Lara confirmed he is not one of the boxers being considered to replace Ortiz. Some of the boxers in the running to face Canelo include former champion Carlos Quintana and undefeated WBA "regular" 154-pound champion Austin Trout.
"Chavez Jr. is man enough to fight Martinez, now show the world you're a man. They say Mexicans are macho so let's lock and load, unless Chavez has more cojones than you," Lara said. "We both have the same promoter there is no excuse now. Golden Boy is about putting on the best possible fights and that's Me vs. Canelo - not these blown up
recycled welterweights."
Lara returns on June 30th to fight Freddy Hernandez (30-2, 20KOs) at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California.