Lara’s Trainer Talks Hearns KO Win, Vanes and Martinez
by David P. Greisman
Erislandy Lara made a statement with his first-round knockout win over Ronald Hearns on April 20, coming out aggressively and putting Hearns down in a heap just halfway into the opening stanza.
Lara’s trainer, Ronnie Shields, spoke with BoxingScene.com a few days after that victory about Lara-Hearns and what comes next for the junior-middleweight contender.
BoxingScene.com: Erislandy Lara looked great against Ronald Hearns on “ShoBox.” That was fantastic.
Shields: “Thank you very much. This kid, man, he moved down here to Houston so he could be here so I could work with him more. This was the longest camp we’ve had, since the first fight got canceled. It gave me a lot more time with him. I told him from the beginning, when I first started training him, that at some point he can’t box everybody, he’s going to have to fight outside the box and go after people. He can still do that in a counterpunching way.
“He followed the game plan perfectly. The game plan was to go to the body right away, and then start working up top. And it didn’t take long, because right as he came out, he came out throwing body shots, then he started going upstairs. He caught him with a good shot, and the rest is history.”
BoxingScene.com: Did you already suspect that Hearns’ chin was there to be dented or broken like that?
Shields: “You know, a lot of people say ‘Lara can’t punch, he’s not this, he’s not that.’ But look, Ronald Hearns is a middleweight coming down a few pounds. The weight was actually 157, so we had to bring him down just a couple pounds because nobody down at 154 will fight us. But when you’re fighting bigger guys, then all of a sudden they weigh-in and then they eat, Hearns could’ve been 175, 180 pounds, as far as we knew. So that makes him a strong fighter.
“Lara only gets up to 162 or 163 pounds. He’s a natural 154-pounder. So you can’t say ‘Everyone’s saying that he [Hearns] has a weak chin, he has this, he has that.’ Look, he’s the bigger fighter. He’s the stronger fighter. Lara just showed a lot of heart, a lot of skill, and you got to give him credit for knocking out a bigger guy.”
BoxingScene.com: You mentioned getting Lara outside the box. Is that something with Cuban fighters that you’ve seen recently, that they’re trained for more of a defensive, counter-punching style, and you’ve got to break them from what gave the such amateur success?
Shields: “Absolutely. These guys, the Cubans are the best boxers in the world, the best counter-punchers in the world. This is all they know, because this is all they were taught. When you’ve been taught something for 15, 20 years, and all of a sudden you’re asking a guy to have confidence in you to change that, that’s a big test in front of you.
“But once a guy gets the confidence and believes in you, then he’s going to try different things. And fortunately for me, Erislandy Lara figured it out: ‘I have to try different things. I realize I can’t box everybody.’ I think he realizes it more than most. And this is why he’s going to go very far in the sport.”
BoxingScene.com: I think it’s the right change at the right time, when you take a look at his performance against Carlos Molina that ended a draw, and then the robbery loss against Paul Williams. It’s better for him to take the fight into his own hands.
Shields: “Absolutely. The thing about it is sometimes things happen to you and you can go one way or the other, like with the Williams fight. After the Paul Williams fight, he could’ve said ‘Forget this, I’m going to stay with my style, I’m not going to change.’ But he was willing to keep learning and realized that he don’t want to be going to decisions all the time because of what can happen. If he’s not the most popular guy that’s fighting, there’s a possibility that you’re not going to get this decision.
“So we got him sitting doing more on punches. His strength and conditioning coach is doing a great job with his physical conditioning, making him stronger because I’m sitting him down more. And he’s taking it in stride. He’s listening to everything we’re saying, and obviously it’s working.”
BoxingScene.com: What do you want next for Lara?
Shields: “We’re supposed to fight Vanes Martirosyan. The WBC ordered us to fight Vanes Martirosyan to see who’s going to be the No. 1 for Canelo Alvarez. Golden Boy has to get with Top Rank and come up with something. I think they have like 30 days to do it. I don’t think that’s going to happen, because I really don’t think they want to fight Lara, so I really don’t know what’s next. I’m in the dark on this thing right now.
“I talked to Lara’s manager, Luis DeCubas last night, and he said they have to sit down and talk with Top Rank. So the ball’s in Top Rank’s court. We’ll see if they can make the match. If they can’t make the match, then I don’t know what’s supposed to happen, whether we get the winner of Mosley-Alvarez or we have to fight somebody else. I don’t understand how this thing works. You got so many eliminators to go through before you’re really No. 1.
“It’s really crazy how this thing is working right now. It’s up in the air what’s what. Lara might have to fight two more eliminators. I don’t know.”
BoxingScene.com: But no matter what, you feel Lara is ready for a shot at the top.
Shields: “Absolutely. He can fight any one of the 154-pounders in the world. Any one of them. It doesn’t make a difference.”
BoxingScene.com: I know you said nobody’s fighting Lara at 154. Would it be worth it to go up and challenge one of the titleholders at 160?
Shields: “Well, we offered Lou DiBella to fight Sergio Martinez. And then it comes down to money. They want all of the money. They don’t want Lara to make anything. He fought his tail off and fought the best fighters in the world, but they don’t want to pay him anything. DiBella wasn’t really interested in that fight. I don’t know what to say.
“I don’t know who else we can challenge. Do we take a chance and go up to 160 and go to Germany or one of those other places and get robbed? I don’t know. That’s something that the team, the promoter, the manager and myself, we have to sit down and discuss what’s the best options for this kid.
“Obviously it took nine months to fight after the Paul Williams fight. That’s way too long for any fighter to be inactive. So he needs to fight. That’s what a fighter does. A fighter fights. We’re telling Golden Boy right now, let’s find something and get something going, because this kid is ready to go.”
David P. Greisman is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Follow David on Twitter at twitter.com/fightingwords2 or on Facebook at facebook.com/fightingwordsboxing, or send questions and comments to fightingwords1@gmail.com
