Vanes Martirosyan vs. Erislandy Lara
Come this Saturday fight fans will bare witness to an HBO card filled with what promises to be future superstar fighters. The main event of that card will be between Armenian brawler Vanes Martirosyan and Cuban prospect Erislandy Lara. It will be a 12 round junior middleweight title eliminator. This promises to be a very interesting fight that could go either way. While both fighters have very different boxing styles they do have one thing in common, both fighters are very heavy handed.
Vanes Martirosyan is the fighter with much more professional experience even thought he is three years younger than his opponent. For a guy who is only 26 years old he has already fought 32 times. His record in those fights is a perfect one of 32-0 with a solid 20 knockouts. He fights in an orthodox stance and has earned the nickname of "Nightmare." He is definatley on his way to becoming a good fighter but his skills are not yet perfected. While he does like to pressure opponents he is also very light on his feet. He likes to bob up and down and side to side in the ring, which could cause some frustration for Lara. But don't let his movement in the ring fool you, this guy comes to fight everytime he steps into the ring. The only knock against Martirosyan as a professional is that he has not fought any real legit name opponent. This fight against Lara will no doubt be the biggest test of his career.
Erislandy Lara has what it takes to be a very special fighter. He is already 29 years old and only has 19 fights as a professional. That is due to the fact that he is from Cuba. In 2007 Lara and Guillermo Rigondeaux who is another superstar in the making defected from Cuba right before the PanAm games. While Rigondeaux was successful, Lara wasn't so lucky. He was caught by Brazilian authorities and returned to Cuba where he was banned from boxing. However it didn't take long for Lara to try his luck again at escaping from Cuba. In 2008 he took a speed boat to Mexico and then made his way to Hamburg, Germany where he was finally free from the opressions of Cuba. He didn't make his professional debut until 2009 at the age of 26 but since then has been unstoppable. He holds a record of 17-1-1 with a very strong 11 knockouts. His only career loss came against former top 10 p4p boxer Paul Williams, but to anyone who watched the fight, including announcers ringside Lara was robbed of a clear victory. He routinely landed massive right hands that caught Williams on the chin which had some thinking he might be sending Williams into an early retirement. He fights in a southpaw stance, is quick in the ring, and has knockout power. Lara is one of the most dangerous fighters on the planet. Although he hasn't fought many big time fighters he does have two legit names on his resume; Paul Williams and Carlos Molina. While Williams was his only "loss" Molina was Lara's lone draw. If Lara is able to beat Martirosyan he would be well on his way to becoming one of the biggest names in boxing.
This fight promises to be all action from the start. Both of these men love to fight and don't hold anything back. While both guys are not opposed to brawls, I think that the skill set of Lara will prove to be too much for the tough Martirosyan. However along with Williams and Molina this will be the toughest test of Lara's blossoming career. Undefeated fighters do not like to give up that first loss so expect Martirosyan to bring it hard and pressure Lara all night. I can't wait for this fight.
PREDICTION: Erislandy Lara wins via unanimous decision.
Miguel Angel Garcia vs. Jonathan Barros
The first fight of the night will be between on the of brightest prospects in boxing Miguel Angel Garcia against tough fighter Jonathan Barros. The fight will take place in the junior lightweight division and is scheduled for 10 rounds. Most fans will be tuning in to see if Garcia can continue his unbeaten streak. While some will be watching to see if the hot prospect will suffer his first career loss. The fans should be loud and proud during this fight as it pits Mexican against Argentine. Two of the best fan bases in boxing.
Miguel Angel Garcia, better known as "Mikey" is younger brother of boxing trainers Robert & Daniel Garcia. His brother Robert serves as his primary trainer but his father is also heavily involved in training. At only 24 years old he has an extremley impressive record of 29-0 with an unbelievable 25 knockouts. Even though he hasn't yet fought any big name opponents the guys he has fought have posed no threat to him. He usually walks right through anyone put in front of him. For such a skinny fighter it is hard to imagine he has such knockout power, but he proves over and over that he does. Garcia is not a fighter he does a lot of "dancing" in the ring. He stalks his opponent and likes to plant his feet and throw hard. The question of the night is whether Barros will be able to withstand the barrage of punches coming from Garcia.
Jonathan Barros will look to continue what has become an impressive streak of winning for Argentine fighters. Outside of his fight against fringe top 10 p4p fighter Yuriorkis Gamboa in which he lost, Garcia should be his toughest test. He has also fought twice against Celestino Caballero splitting the series 1-1. However at the time of those fights Caballero was already an old 35 years old. All of the other fighters on the resume of Barros are no name Argentines. His record stands at 34-3-1 with 18 knockouts. Barros isn't the most skilled of fighters and doesn't seem to posses a strong defense. He comes right at his opponent and throws wide punches. One positive for Barros in a fight like this is that even though he has tasted canvass he has never been knocked out. Garcia is viewing Barros as a stepping stone to bigger and better things, while Barros views Garcia as a name fighter to put on his resume.
This fight will come down to the experience of Barros against the skills of Garcia. Garcia as he always does will be looking for the knockout victory. Big time boxing fans will be curious to see if Garcia can hand Barros his first career knockout loss, or if Barros can somehow pull of the upset and ruin the perfect record of Garcia. This is the night fans might get to really see how good Garcia can and should be.
PREDICTION: Mikey Garcia wins via 8th round knockout.
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