The 40-year-old WBA middleweight titleholder Erislandy Lara will have to fight off Father Time, ring rust, and Michael Zerafa when he steps into the ring for the first time in 20 months on March 30.

The 16-year veteran fighter has been mostly inactive in the twilight years of his career. “The American Dream” has somewhat been sleeping on the sidelines, having fought just three times since 2019 against inferior competition like Gary O’Sullivan, Thomas LaManna, and Greg Vendetti. 

But Lara (29-3-3, 17 KOs) is promising a throwback performance against Zerafa (31-4, 19 KOs) later this month on the undercard of the Keith Thurman-Tim Tszyu fight at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Amazon pay-per-view. 

“I promise that I’m going to be ready for Zerafa and that everyone tuning in is going to see a great fight,” said Lara. “I’m going to put pressure on my opponent. I’m coming full-throttle. The fans can expect me to make this a very difficult night for Zerafa. I’m trying to knock him out.” 

During his heyday more than a decade ago, the Cuban southpaw and 154-pound belt holder Lara was always matched tough against the likes of Canelo Alvarez, Austin Trout, and Paul Williams. He also lost a Fight of the Year against Jarret Hurd via split decision in 2018 and fought to a split draw against Brian Castano in 2019. 

“I feel good and I feel strong. I don’t think I need to prove anything. I just have to showcase who I am. I don’t think I’m going to have much trouble showing that,” said Lara. “I’ve gained so much experience in this sport and that’s allowed me to pick the right times to go for knockouts. Lately, that’s what I’ve been able to get done.” 

During Lara’s four-fight winning streak, three of the wins have come via KO.

“Pretty Boy” Zerafa is also riding a four-fight winning streak. The best victory of the 31-year-old Australian’s career came in 2019 when he twice dropped and stopped Jeff Horn. Zerafa would lose to Horn in an immediate rematch, and his other losses have come to the likes of Kell Brook and Peter Quillin. 

 

“I know that I’ve got a young opponent in front of me who’s going to give it everything he has to win the world title,” said Lara. “But I’ve got a lot to offer to stop him and you’re going to see it on March 30.”