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by David P. Greisman - It’s debatable whether Erislandy Lara’s performance against Canelo Alvarez was enough to win. His performance definitely wasn’t enough to win over those who weren’t already fans of him.
Lara needed more than victory alone if he wanted the stardom that eluded him and its requisite perks. He’d been featured on television, earned decent money and held a world title. None of that would’ve come to him had he remained in the Cuban amateur system instead of leaving his home country and moving to the United States.
He still wasn’t being accorded the status and respect he felt he deserved. Rather, it was Alvarez who was getting the major spotlight and the pay-per-view main events, Alvarez who was the favored child of Golden Boy Promotions, and Alvarez who was becoming increasingly popular and increasingly rich.
Some of that was Lara’s fault; his style wasn’t always the most aesthetically pleasing, and it didn’t help Golden Boy in its promotional efforts. Then again, the promotional efforts weren’t the greatest even when Lara did entertain. And so the skilled boxer was seen as high risk and low reward. Unlike others stuck in similar situations, however, Lara was receiving an opportunity against Alvarez.
That’s because Alvarez wanted the challenge, wanted the benefits of overcoming this kind of opponent. He was coming off a loss to the best boxer in the world, Floyd Mayweather, last September, and then a one-sided beating of Alfredo Angulo this past March. A win over Lara would bolster Alvarez’s claim of being one of the best junior middleweights in the world. [Click Here To Read More]
Lara needed more than victory alone if he wanted the stardom that eluded him and its requisite perks. He’d been featured on television, earned decent money and held a world title. None of that would’ve come to him had he remained in the Cuban amateur system instead of leaving his home country and moving to the United States.
He still wasn’t being accorded the status and respect he felt he deserved. Rather, it was Alvarez who was getting the major spotlight and the pay-per-view main events, Alvarez who was the favored child of Golden Boy Promotions, and Alvarez who was becoming increasingly popular and increasingly rich.
Some of that was Lara’s fault; his style wasn’t always the most aesthetically pleasing, and it didn’t help Golden Boy in its promotional efforts. Then again, the promotional efforts weren’t the greatest even when Lara did entertain. And so the skilled boxer was seen as high risk and low reward. Unlike others stuck in similar situations, however, Lara was receiving an opportunity against Alvarez.
That’s because Alvarez wanted the challenge, wanted the benefits of overcoming this kind of opponent. He was coming off a loss to the best boxer in the world, Floyd Mayweather, last September, and then a one-sided beating of Alfredo Angulo this past March. A win over Lara would bolster Alvarez’s claim of being one of the best junior middleweights in the world. [Click Here To Read More]
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