By Ryan Songalia
Carlos "El Olimpico" Tamara will make the first defense of his IBF light-flyweight title on May 29 against hard-luck contender Luis "El Mosquito" Lazarte. The incumbent champion Tamara will be invading Lazarte's backyard of Mar del Plata, Argentina on a show promoted by the Argentinian's promoter Osvaldo Rivero of O.R. Promotions. The venue has yet to be determined, said Tamara's manager Nelson Fernandez.
Tamara, 21-4 (15 KO), is two months removed from a thrilling come-from-behind 12th round TKO over Brian Viloria in Manila, Philippines to win the title. After some much needed rest following that punishing fight, Tamara is getting ready for what is for all intents and purposes a tune-up for a Fall showdown with mandatory challenger Ulises Solis.
Regardless, Team Tamara says they aren't letting their guards down.
"I'm preparing for my first defense as if I was the challenger," says the 27-year-old Tamara, a native of Sincelejo, Colombia now residing in North Bergen, NJ. "I know Lazarte is hungry but so am I. "Being a world champion has changed the way that people see me in my country but I try to stay humble."
"We're going to look at this just like he wasn't the champion," says Tamara's co-trainer Edgar "Butch" Sanchez. "Everyone's trying to take his title and we wouldn't have anything if God forbid we were to lose in the first defense. Everything is going to be tough now because everyone gets better when they fight for a world title."
The 39-year-old Lazarte has tried four times unsuccessfully to win a world title and is likely looking at his final opportunity. He brings a record of 46-9-1 (18 KO) but has only been stopped once, by future Hall of Famer Pongsaklek Wonjongkam in 2001. Lazarte is ranked #7 by the IBF and has won six straight since losing to Daniel Reyes in 2008.
"Even though this guy has lost four other attempts we know he's going to bring his A-game," says Sanchez. "He's basically right in front of you. Probably his better days are behind him but the way we're going to train for him is that he can still pull one out of the hat. He throws a lot of punches and I think Tamara looks real good against guys that punch a lot. Tamara is going to look real sharp here."
Manager Fernandez likes this fight for a variety of reasons.
"We had quite a few offers on the table. This wasn't the most money but it was what we considered a safe defense. The timing was right, the money was right, the opponent was right. We figured [Tamara] just came back from the toughest fight of his career and we're looking for somebody like this guy."
Should Tamara get through Lazarte, a mandatory defense against the formidable Solis waits on the horizon. Solis, 30-2-2 (21 KO), stopped Filipino contender Bert Batawang over the weekend in six rounds to solidify his ranking with the IBF. Solis has won two straight since being knocked out by Viloria in 11 rounds last April.
"We don't want to look past Lazarte but we watched the Solis fight on Saturday and he looked really tough," said Sanchez. "The Solis fight is going to be a lot like the Brian Viloria fight, it's going to be tough."
Fernandez says the IBF has given them an October 23 deadline to fight Solis. He feels the fight will not be resolved without a purse bid because they want to bring the fight to Puerto Rico, where Tamara's promotional company Universal Boxing is located.
"We want to make sure we have that fight in Puerto Rico; we don't want to fight him in Mexico. "We have a few months but we've been talking to TV stations about it and they love that fight. If I was a gambling man and you know I'm not, I'd say 95% we'll win that purse bid and it'll be in Puerto Rico." -RS
Ryan Songalia is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be contacted at ryan@ryansongalia.com . An archive of his work can be found at www.ryansongalia.com .
