By Elisinio Castillo

Tired of knocking on doors and receive negative responses, WBA junior middleweight champion Erislandy Lara (23-2-2, 13 KO) looked at the list of available opponents and chose former world champion Yuri Foreman.

The fight is scheduled for the 13th of January at the Hialeah Park and Casino in Florida. The fight will be televised as part of a Premier Boxing Champions card on Spike TV.

"Believe me we send a lot of messages and invitations to find an opponent of the highest level, but no one answered,'' said Lara's manager Luis DeCubas Jr. to George Ebro. "Lara sent proposals to the best at his weight and everyone ignored his request. Nevertheless, we understand that a fight with Foreman can offer quality for the public of Miami and the world."

Foreman is a huge underdog. He was at his best six and a half years ago when he captured the super welterweight title of the World Association (WBA) by defeating Puerto Rico's Daniel Santos by unanimous decision.

But his reign was brief, because in June of 2010 the title was taken away by another famous Puerto Rican - Miguel Cotto. Foreman came into the ring with one knee injured and it almost put an end to his boxing career. Foreman's career never fully recovered from that setback.

According to DeCubas Jr., Lara will have a big fight in the works for the month of June. There have been rumors that Lara may go into a unification fight with former gym stablemate, WBC junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo. Ronnie Shields trains Lara and Jermell's twin brother, IBF champion Jermall Charlo.

"We have to thank Foreman for having the courage to accept the challenge of Lara, '' DeCubas Jr. said. "We're looking at this fight as springboard into 2017. We promise we will return in June against a superior opponent, preferably against another champion."