Canelo Alvarez is set to face Erislandy Lara on July 12, and while rumors swirl about future bouts with Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Cotto and Sergio Martinez, the Mexican superstar would be smart to not lose sight of the difficult task ahead of him. At a recent press conference Canelo's trainer Chepo Reynoso did some talking that's reminiscent of Lara's incessant chatter.
"We'll see if he can fight like he talks," Reynoso said. "Hopefully July 12 he comes to fight, so the fans are happy and it can be a great night because if he shows up to fight Canelo will knock him out for sure."
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The talk is bold, but not entirely unfounded. While Lara's gained a reputation as a slick defensive fighter, which has given Alvarez fits in the past, he's also been knocked down twice. When Lara fought Alfredo Angulo, a man Alvarez pounded for 10 rounds before winning via TKO, Angulo put him down two times before the fight was stopped because he fractured his orbital bone.
Lara's trainer Ronnie Shields had some strong counterpoints, and addressed Lara's issues vs. Angulo. "In that fight against Alfredo Angulo we made a couple of mistakes and it cost us," Shields said. The key error Lara made was allowing himself to be trapped on the ropes. Angulo and Canelo share that trait offensively-if their opponent is against the ropes they are in very poor position. Alvarez is a noted combination puncher, and he can throw with great power in both hands.
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Shields also commented on Alvarez's dominant performance vs. Angulo, and essentially called it overrated. "Let me tell you something, the Angulo that Lara fought was not the same Angulo that fought Canelo. He was just not the same guy. Angulo was just walking around all defensive, that was not the Angulo that everybody knows.
"So he can't say he really fought a very good Angulo, because he didn't."
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