Erislandy Lara: record, next fight and profile →
After having signed the contract to fight Erislandy Lara 3 weeks ago, Vanes Martirosyan finally got the good news that Lara had finally signed as well and the fight was on. It’s been a long road for the 2004 USA Olympian to finally get a big meaningful fight in his quest to a world title.
Golden Boy Promotions CEO, Richard Schaefer, has advised BoxingScene.com that junior middleweight contender Erislandy Lara (17-1-1, 11KOs) has signed his contract to fight unbeaten Vanes Martirosyan (32-0, 20KOs) in a WBC final eliminator on November 10th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas - as part of the Manny Pacquiao HBO pay-per-view undercard.
Serge Martirosyan, the manager and uncle of junior middleweight contender Vanes Martirosyan (32-0, 20KOs), says his nephew signed a contract three weeks ago to face Cuban boxer Erislandy Lara (17-1-1, 11KOs) in a final WBC eliminator on November 10th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas - as part of Manny Pacquiao's HBO pay-per-view undercard.
BoxingScene.com: What were your thoughts on Erislandy Lara’s performance June 30 against Freddy Hernandez? Some people expected Lara to blow Hernandez away, but instead Lara boxed his way to a unanimous decision.
According to Carl Morretti, Vice President of Top Rank, his company outbid Golden Boy Promotions to secure the rights to the WBC's final junior middleweight eliminator between Vanes Martirosyan and Erislandy Lara. The mandatory purse bid was held this morning in Mexico. Top Rank, who promote Vanes, placed a bid of $405,000, and Golden Boy bid $326,000.
While Vanes Martirosyan is still disappointed he wasn’t able to fight this past Saturday night due to his opponent Ryan Davis failing his pre-fight medical exam, he is happy about the opportunity to face Erislandy Lara in a WBC final eliminator.
Monday marked the one-year anniversary of one of the worst decisions in recent boxing history. But as much as Erislandy Lara’s “loss” to Paul Williams last July 9 in Atlantic City stalled Lara’s career, the Cuban-born southpaw knows a disputed defeat in the ring pales in comparison to what Williams lost during a May 27 motorcycle accident in Marietta, Ga. Like so many others involved in boxing, Lara prays that the partially paralyzed Williams will walk again.
As earlier reported by BoxingScene, the WBC has mandated a purse bid on July 27th for a fight between Vanes Martirosyan and Erislandy Lara for a final WBC elimination bout. Recently Vanes had rejected an offer to face Lara because he wanted contractual stipulation that if he was victorious, he’d be able to fight current champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. This time however, Vanes is on board 100% regardless of anything.
The World Boxing Council has started the process of the free negotiations for the final elimination bout between Erislandy Lara and Vanes Martyrosian to determine the mandatory contender in the super welterweight division. If there is no agreement between the parties, a purse offer will be held on Friday, July 27, in the WBC’s Mexico City headquarters.
Ernest Gabion catches up with junior middleweight contender Erislandy Lara to discuss his big win over Freddy Hernandez, what he wants to do next and more.