Each fighter; along with their heart, determination and schooling will bring a game plan into the ring. It is that game plan they have spent most of their training camp perfecting that will either guide them to victory or lead them into despair. Despair in this case equating to the inability to effectively use the techniques they have learned through all the years of experience they have acquired in the boxing ring. There are key things that each fighter must do or not allow their opponent to do that will put them in a position to win this fight. There is no way of knowing in entirety what each fighter’s game plan will be. There, however are certain things that each fight will have to do to be effective in the ring.
Canelo Alverez, a Boxer Puncher who prefers to counter punch will have to keep Erislandy Lara in front of him. Canelo will have to come out his comfort zone and apply pressure to Lara by cutting off the ring limiting Lara’s lateral movement. Canelo will have to use his size and strength advantages whenever he is in a clinch with Lara. In those situations Canelo will want to work the free hand and try to land short but effective shots to Lara’s body. While these punches often do not have immediate effects if landed with consistency over the course of 12 rounds they will cause Lara to slow down. Canelo will also have to use his jab to disrupt Lara’s rhythm and aggressively attack Lara’s body instead of opting to try to land big shots to the head. The body attack if effective will not only slow Lara down but it will cause him to instinctively protect his body which will make him more susceptible to left hooks upstairs in later rounds. These are the things Canelo must do at a minimum in order to position himself for victory on Saturday night.
Erislandy Lara is a South Paw who is a pure boxer that can throw a punch with serious pop when he wants to. Always preferring to employ a stick and move approach in the ring Lara can inflict major bodily harm when he sits down on his punches. For Lara to be effective in the ring on Saturday night he will want to keep Canelo off balance and in a defensive posture as often as possible. Lara can achieve this by using Lateral movement and varying his offensive attack with Pot shots to the head and body of Canelo. Canelo when pushed has proving to have stamina problems later in fights. Going to the body early can pay major dividends for Lara. Being the faster fighter Lara will want to be 1st to the punch. He will want to throw punches at Canelo even if there are no openings to land a clean shot. This will force Canelo to be more focused on defense than on offense. This will also give the judges the impression that Lara is being the aggressor. Often times when a fighter is using a lot of lateral movement it is perceived that they are being forced to move due to pressure imposed by their opponent. Although this may not truly be the case and, in fact just be a fighters stylistic approach to the fight, judges typically based decisions on what is perceived more so than what may truly be. Lara is a mover and in this fight he cannot afford to give up rounds just because of his style. Lara needs to seemingly negate any advantage Canelo may have. Negating Canelo’s advantages will give Lara the best chance to achieve victory. To ensure that he minimizes Canelo’s ability to use his size advantage Lara will want to keep his back off the ropes and avoid getting into clinches. If Lara can do these things in the ring on Saturday it will be hard to imagine him not getting the victory.
Saturday night July 12, will the Bull trample the Matador........ or will the Matador prove to be too elusive for the Bull. I guess the only way to find out will be to tune in.