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“What most people didn’t realize was that Erislandy injured his right hand in the first round,” proclaims Ronnie Shields. “After the first round, he came back to the corner and whispered something into his manager Luis Decubas Jr’s ear. I didn’t find out until after the second round had started that Erislandy severely injured his right hand in the opening round.”
“But Erislandy is a complete fighter. He is very versatile and can fight using different styles and tactics. Our plan was to outbox Vanes early and then start backing him up in the mid to late rounds. Because Vanes has never been an effective aggressor, I knew that we would eventually frustrate him, break him down physically and mentally, and take over the fight.”
“But it became very difficult to set anything up without his jab or right hook. So I told Erislandy just to keep firing his left hand as much as he could. Lara was unusually pawing with his jab and almost back-handing Vanes, which you never see from a very experienced fighter like Erislandy.”
“But it became very difficult to set anything up without his jab or right hook. So I told Erislandy just to keep firing his left hand as much as he could. Lara was unusually pawing with his jab and almost back-handing Vanes, which you never see from a very experienced fighter like Erislandy.”
I know this is way old and not trying to make excuses but I guess this explains why we never saw the right hook and why Shields didn't have any other instructions in the corner but "throw the left". It's a shame cause I've seen Vanes get hit by plenty of right hooks and straight lefts. It would've opened the fight for Lara much easier. Figured I'd post this for those interested and I hope this is not a reoccurring problem.
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