By Lyle Fitzsimmons

It was a pretty good run.

The former Cuban amateur star rattled through 15 fights that included elites like Paul Williams and Canelo Alvarez, champions like Carlos Molina, Austin Trout and Ishe Smith, and recognizable contenders like Vanes Martirosyan, Alfredo Angulo, Delvin Rodriguez and Yuri Foreman.

He was a convincing winner in many and a disputed loser in a few, but never found himself too far from mainstream recognition as the best 154-pound commodity in the world.

These days, though, things seem a bit different.

Rather than defending the IBO or WBA belts he’d carried into many of those fights, the now-35-year-old finds himself on the outside looking in when it comes to the division’s championship spotlight.

Lara dropped a split decision to Jarrett Hurd in one of 2018’s best fights last April – losing his dual-belted status in the process – and has since seen the likes of Jaime Munguia (WBO) and Tony Harrison (WBC) capture titles at 154 and significantly cut into his junior middleweight/super welterweight market share.

He pines for a chance at new preeminence, but restarts the ascent minus the usual high-profile foil.

Instead, he’ll face comparatively unknown Argentine slugger Brian Castano, who does hold one of the WBA’s cache of dubious “world” titles, but has exactly one win over a top-10 opponent and exactly one U.S. appearance in a bout scheduled beyond eight rounds.

The Saturday match will headline a three-tiered Showtime card (9 p.m. ET) that’ll also feature former heavyweight challenger Luis Ortiz as well as streaking Panamanian lightweight Ricardo Nunez.

And even a lightly-regarded belt can provide an always-important boost.

“Every fighter wants to win a belt even if it’s a regional or minor belt. It lets you know that you’re on the way to the top,” Lara said. “Fighters need that confidence and having a belt of any kind give you that. Also, when you have a regional or minor belt, it lets you know you have something to strive for.”

Not surprisingly, he views Castano as little more than an obstacle in the career path, though he’s not hesitant to give the 15-0 import some credit for reaching the level of soon-to-be beaten rival.

“I must focus on being victorious against Castano. Once I beat him, I’m right back in the mix at 154,” he said. “I’m just one fight away from getting another world title shot so I’m confident in my ability to become a world champion again. The Hurd fight was a tough situation to deal with because I felt I won the fight. I’ve been robbed before and it’s not a good feeling.”

Hurd, who dropped Lara in the 12th round, was subsequently given a 114-113 edge on two of three official scorecards – the third judge had Lara up by the same score – making it the third time the Cuban tasted defeat by either split or majority decision.

A split 2014 loss to Alvarez in Las Vegas was considered controversial by many, while the majority verdict awarded to Williams in Atlantic City was labeled 2011’s “Robbery of the Year” by Boxing Scene.

Saturday’s fight is at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, where Lara is 2-0 with wins over Trout and Terrell Gausha, both by comfortable unanimous nods.

“Castano is a very good fighter with a lot of talent. He’s definitely no steppingstone,” Lara said.

“He’s at the elite level for a reason. I’m going to have to be at my best to be victorious. At this level, everyone can fight. To win is a must, and to look impressive doing it is important. My fight with Hurd was voted Fight of the Year so I want to carry that into this fight.”

The 329-day layoff will be the longest of Lara’s career, which began in 2008 and included 15 wins and a draw before the Williams debacle. He was then 4-0-1 in five fights before the loss to Alvarez, and won six consecutive bouts – two by stoppage – before falling to Hurd.

He earned the WBA’s title at 154 after defeating Smith in 2014 and picked up the IBO’s vacant belt with a defeat of Rodriguez one fight later. He defended the pair four times and is 8-3-1 in 12-rounders.

Hence, no concern from all the time away.

“I’ve been boxing since I was a kid so going into any training camp is just like riding a bike. I know exactly what I must do so the routine is still the same,” Lara said. “Outside of the ring I mostly focus on staying in shape. I don’t believe in ring rust because I have great sparring partners. If you’re in the gym working hard then there should be no ring rust.”

Castano has gone past eight rounds just twice – winning a split decision over Michel Soro in July 2017 and stopping Cedric Vitu in the 12th round in his most recent fight last March 10.

He will have been off 357 days when the opening bell rings, but has stopped 10 foes in six rounds or less.

No matter, Lara said.

“I never study my opponent and their style, I leave that up to my trainer and team,” he said.

“My plan going into every fight is to dictate the pace and make adjustments as the fight goes on. My opponents are the ones that must prepare for my style. I feel I’m the best fighter in the super welterweight division because I feel in my heart that I want my fight against Hurd. It’s my opinion and that’s how I feel. I will have to prove that to everyone with each fight until I get my rematch with Hurd.

“Success in the ring will be me winning a majority of the rounds. If I’m boxing beautifully and landing a high percentage of my punches, you’ll know I’m on my game.”

But even if it doesn’t go his way, retirement is not in the imminent future.

“I’m going to fight for as long as I can, regardless, or when my body says no more,” Lara said. “I still feel young because I haven’t taken too many punches. I know I still have a lot of fights left in me. If I see myself slowing down then I’ll hang ’em up, but right now I still feel strong. I’d say I have at least five more years left, maybe more.”
 
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This week’s legit title-fight schedule:

TUESDAY
WBO mini-flyweight title – Tokyo, Japan
Vic Saludar (champion/No. 6 IWBR) vs. Masataka Taniguchi (No. 2 WBO/No. 27 IWBR)
Saludar (18-3, 10 KO): First title defense; Three wins in four scheduled 12-round fights (3-1, 1 KO) 
Taniguchi (11-2, 7 KO): First title fight; Seven wins in nine previous fights in Japan (7-2, 4 KO)
Fitzbitz says: Saludar only arrived on the championship level in his last fight and isn’t exactly settled in, but he’s probably too big a leap for a challenger with no high-end resume. Saludar by decision (80/20)

This week’s garbage title-fight schedule:

WBA super welterweight title – Brooklyn, New York
Brian Castano (“world” champion/No. 8 IWBR) vs. Erislandy Lara (No. 2 WBA/No. 2 IWBR)
Why it’s trash: There’s no question that Lara provides the WBA some marquee power for this one, but the fact that “super” champ Jarrett Hurd beat the Cuban 11 months ago eliminates any elite legitimacy. It’s a worthwhile get-back fight for the now-35-year-old, but it’s simply not worthy of a legit belt.

Last week's picks: 2-0 (WIN: Eubank, Dirrell)
2019 picks record: 14-3 (82.3 percent)
Overall picks record: 1,026-346 (74.7 percent)

NOTE: Fights previewed are only those involving a sanctioning body's full-fledged title-holder – no interim, diamond, silver, etc. Fights for WBA "world championships" are only included if no "super champion" exists in the weight class.

Lyle Fitzsimmons has covered professional boxing since 1995 and written a weekly column for Boxing Scene since 2008. He is a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Reach him at fitzbitz@msn.com or follow him on Twitter – @fitzbitz.