Erislandy Lara vs Danny Garcia Preview September 14th, 2024
WBA regular Middleweight Champion Erislandy Lara of Cuba takes on former junior welterweight champion Danny Garcia of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania this Saturday, September 14th. The 12-rounder from Las Vegas can be seen live in most nations on pay-per-view including on DAZN on the undercard of the Canelo Alvarez vs Edgar Berlanga fight. Lara won the vacant title by stopping Thomas Lamanna in just 80 seconds in May, 2021 and has defended it just twice by stopping Gary O’Sullivan in the eighth round in May, 2022 and halting Michael Zerafa in the second round in March. Garcia last saw action in August, 2022 when he edged Jose Benavidez Jr by a 12-round majority decision.
Lara vs Garcia Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Danny Garcia +190
- Erislandy Lara -240
My Pick
The 41-year-old Lara is a southpaw who now fights out of Houston, Texas. He climbs into the ring with a mark of 30-3-3 with 18 Ko’s under his belt. He’s elusive in the ring with a lot of boxing skills but doesn’t have too much in the way of one-punch power even though 60 per cent of his victories have come by stoppage. That may be a little hard to digest though since he’s stopped his last three opponents but has gone the distance in four of his last eight outings. Lara stands just 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 75-inch wingspan and is also a former IBO and WBA Junior Middleweight champion.
He won the IBO belt by beating Delvin Rodriguez via unanimous decision in June, 2015 and captured the interim WBA title in June, 2013 by stopping Alfredo Angulo in the 10th round after being dropped in the fourth and ninth rounds. He defended his belts against the likes of Yuri Foreman, Vanes Martirosyan, Delvin Rodriguez, Ishe Smith and Jan Zaveck.
Meanwhile, Lara’s three defeats have all been controversial and came at the hands of former world champ Jarrett Hurd by split decision in April, 2018, to Paul Williams by majority decision in 2011 and a split decision to Saul Alvarez in 2014. He also fought to a nine-round technical decision draw with Vanes Martirosyan in 2012, a 10-round majority draw with Carlos Molina a year earlier and a 12-round draw with Brian Castano in 2019.
Lara is an excellent technical boxer and his power may be a bit underrated. He’s boxed 236 rounds since turning pro in 2008. Before that he enjoyed an excellent amateur career in which he won numerous titles, including three straight national crowns in Cuba as a welterweight. He has a bit of an awkward style but has become more fan friendly lately by letting his hands go and throwing more power shots. He’s sometimes dominant, too defensive and hard to hit and that can lead to boring fights.
The 36-year-old Garcia is a former WBC and WBA Junior Welterweight Champion who won the vacant WBC Welterweight Title in January of 2016 with a unanimous decision over Robert Guerrero. However he lost that title to Keith Thurman by split decision in March, 2017 and was then beaten via a unanimous decision by Shawn Porter in September, 2018 in attempt to regain the vacant WBC belt. He then lost a unanimous decision to Errol Spence in a shot at the IBF and WBC Welterweight Title in 2020.
Garcia enters this fight with a record of 37-3 and also has 21 Kos to his name. He has power in both hands, but it hasn’t really been evident lately since he has just five knockouts in his past 15 bouts since 2013. After reportedly going 107-13 as an amateur, Garcia turned pro in 2007 and has fought 282 rounds since. He stands 5-feet-8-inches tall with a 68.5-inch reach so gives up an inch in height and 6.5-inches in reach to Lara.
The former champ has faced some top-quality opposition over the years such as Spence, Porter, Thurman, Guerrero, Paulie Malignaggi, Amir Khan, Zab Judah, Mauricio Herrera, Lucas Matthysse, Kendall Holt, Nate Campbell, and Erik Morales twice. Garcia isn’t really a standout boxer, but he’s solid in all areas of the sport with good power, speed, defence, ring generalship and chin and that’s why he’s been beaten just three times as a pro.
Garcia’s power is decent as 56.7 per cent of his wins have been by stoppage and he doesn’t usually go looking for knockouts as he’s actually quite patient. He’s had some problems in the past with skilled boxers such as Thurman, Herrera and Judah and had to work hard against them since he was forced to go after them. He prefers opponents who are right in front of him as he can eventually wear them down with his jab and excellent left hook.
Prediction…
Neither boxer has been very active over the past few years and Garcia hasn’t fought for over two years. He gives up size to Lara and typically has a tough time against skilled boxers, which is what Lara is. Lara has been letting his hands go more as he ages. Perhaps he doesn’t feel he has the stamina to go the distance anymore and he wants to end things as early as possible. Whatever the reason, the more aggressive version of Lara is certainly more fan friendly. Garcia has a lot of heart and has a chance of inning this but I think Lara is a little too slick for him. I’m expecting a close fight with Lara pulling it out.
Lara’s slightly more skilled than Garcia.
Play Lara -240 @ BetOnline.ag
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Danny Garcia betting • Erislandy Lara betting