Erislandy Lara is known for his boxing ability, especially for being so difficult to hit – but Danny Garcia says that’s nothing new for him.
“I fight Philly fighters – as slick as it can get,” Garcia, the former lineal junior welterweight champion and welterweight titleholder, recently said to media members, according to a video posted by FightHype. “I’ve been doing that since I was a kid, so slickness is really nothing to me at this point.”
Garcia will challenge Lara for the WBA middleweight title on the Sept. 14 pay-per-view undercard to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs. Edgar Berlanga.
“Definitely, he’s a tricky fighter,” Garcia said of Lara. “He’s one of the best boxers you could get in the ring with, skill-wise. I know I got my work cut out for me. But we’re training, we got the right game plan, and we’re going to go in there and execute.”
This will be Garcia’s first fight since his July 2022 victory over Jose Benavidez Jr. at junior middleweight. And Lara will be Garcia’s toughest foe since December 2020, when the 36-year-old Philadelphian lost a decision to unified welterweight titleholder Errol Spence Jr.
The 41-year-old Lara, meanwhile, has had a relatively drama-free route for more than five years, with his last difficult outing coming in a draw with Brian Castano in March 2019. Since then, Lara has knocked out Ramon Alvarez in two rounds, outpointed Greg Vendetti, took out Thomas “Cornflake” LaManna in 80 seconds, stopped Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan in eight rounds and blasted through Michael Zerafa in two.
“He’s definitely skilled,” Garcia said. “Every fighter’s skilled in different ways. Amir Khan was a hell of a talent. Keith Thurman was a hell of a talent. Zab Judah was very skillful. I think Zab is probably the hardest style to beat for my style. But as far as southpaws, I feel like I do a great job with southpaws – but he definitely is skillful. I’m definitely the best fighter he’s fought in a long time, also.”
Follow David Greisman on Twitter @FightingWords2. His book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
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