By Elisinio Castillo
WBA 'regular' junior middleweight champion Erislandy Lara (19-1-2, 12KOs) believes he would have never received the opportunity to face Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (43-1-1, 31KOs) without initiated their confrontation in March.
After Canelo stopped Alfredo Angulo at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Lara confronted him at the post-fight press conference and demanded a fight.
"No, 100% I wouldn't get the fight without calling him out. If he wants to demonstrate that he's the best at 154, he has to fight the best," Lara said.
Now Lara gets the showdown he wanted, at the same Las Vegas venue, on July 12th as the headline fight on a Showtime Pay-Per-View card.
But the fight is not going to be for Lara's title. Instead they are going to fight at a catch-weight of 155-pounds, which is the same weight that Canelo requested for the March bout with Angulo. Lara and his team believe Canelo is having serious issues with his weight.
"He has problems with the weight, the promotion didn't want to make it for the belt so we don't fight for the belt. It's disrespectful, but this is a business so the most important thing is to get the fight. I will guarantee that I will bust Canelo's mouth," Lara said.
