By Kirk Jackson
There has been rumors swirling around the boxing world in regards to Erislandy Lara (18-1-2, 12 KO’s) fighting former WBA junior middleweight champion Austin Trout (26-1, 14 KO’s).
Potentially, the pair was and may still be scheduled to duel on September 14th, the same night Floyd Mayweather and Saul Alvarez fight for the unification of WBC, WBA and Ring Magazine titles in the same division.
That was the rumor of course, but Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe dispelled any notion of the Lara/Trout fight appearing on the Mayweather-Alvarez card via his twitter feed:
Absolutely no truth to the rumor of Lara vs Trout on our show #theone
— Leonard Ellerbe (@LEllerbe) July 23, 2013
In recent weeks, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer echoed the same sentiments made by Ellerbe.
It would be ideal for the fans to have Lara and Trout on an already stacked card in September, that features not only Mayweather and Alvarez, but Danny Garcia and Lucas Matthysse in a junior welterweight clash as well.
A triple header featuring the likes of elite six top level fighters, which each result having the power to transform the boxing landscape. That’s certainly worth the $65.00-$75.00 worth of admission for viewers watching at home.
Lara and Trout would like to showcase their talent on such a large scale as well, with this card potentially becoming one of the highest grossing Pay-Per-Views of all time.
But with the possibility of Lara and Trout not being showcased on the card, there is even a stronger possibility the winner of their duel will not get a shot at either Mayweather or Alvarez.
In the case of Alvarez, he already defeated Trout this past April, in a controversial unification bout. There’s “No Doubt” Alvarez would ever have any intention of fighting Trout again unless he was forced to.
And why would he with the option of fighting a rematch with Mayweather no matter the outcome of their fight in September, or having the opportunity of having a big money fight with Miguel Cotto somewhere down the line.
Even though fighting Lara is a winnable fight for Alvarez, the slick Cuban southpaw would give Alvarez a ton of problems. His defensive skill and counter-punching ability he has showcased in his extensive amateur career and brief but impressive pro career thus far would be a problem for any fighter.
Lara also showed in his last fight against Alfredo Angulo, that he has the heart and will to overcome two knock downs and search for a way to seize victory stopping Angulo in the 10th round of their fight this past June.
He’s a threat. An unnecessary threat at that, because of his non-crowd pleasing style and lack of a large fan following.
As for Mayweather, there seems to be no clamoring from fans or critics to fight either Trout or Lara. Of course that can all change by year’s end.
But there are more exciting and lucrative match-ups for Mayweather if he is to get past Alvarez.
There is the rematch with Alvarez depending on the outcome of their clash. The winner of Garcia- Matthysse, Amir Khan is waiting for the opportunity and of course there is long-reigning middleweight champion Sergio Martinez.
A dark horse in this race is Manny Pacquiao. If he is able to get a couple wins under his belt in wake of his KO defeat against Marquez last December, who knows the public would probably like to see these two matched up although the luster has certainly faded over the years.
After the fight with Alvarez in September, Mayweather will have four fights left on his contract with Showtime. With names like Pacquiao, Khan, Timothy Bradley, Mayweather’s protégé Adrien Broner, and maybe even the rematch with Juan Manuel Marquez serving as a possibility, it seems unlikely Trout or Lara will get their chance.
