Canelo Alvarez and Erislandy Lara have had an exciting buildup to their Saturday bout in Las Vegas, and their final press conference, which can be live streamed free here, is likely to include some fireworks.
One of the key turning points in getting the match made in the first place was Lara's bold choice to crash Alvarez's press conference after he had defeated Alfredo Angulo. He offended me, Mexico and our boxing," Alvarez said of Lara's disrespect. "The fight was done for those reasons. He pressed the wrong buttons. It upset me. Many fighters do that, but not all and not me."
Lara has also boasted of his amateur background, telling media he plans on taking Canelo to the Cuban school. He brought it up again at their most recent press conference by saying "I take every fighter to Cuban school and that's the same on Saturday."
Canelo's opinion differs, unsurprisingly. "They have very good fighters," Alvarez said of Cuba, "But I'll tell you right now: I'm being very sincere, without a doubt: Mexico boxing is superior."
Lara's antics, as well as his accusations of ducking, annoyed Canelo so much that he went against the advice of his promoter Oscar De La Hoya and insisted Lara be his next opponent despite the style issues he presents "I'm not going to get into his games," Alvarez said. "If I didn't want the fight, the fight wouldn't be happening. The fight is here because I wanted the fight."
Lara even had an answer for the De La Hoya questions that is sure to rankle Canelo. "The person who is going to fight me is Canelo, not Oscar," Lara said. "If Oscar wants to fight me, then I'll bust him in the mouth too."
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