Erislandy Lara vs Greg Vendetti Preview Aug. 29th
WBA Jr. Middleweight Champion Erislandy Lara of Cuba takes on Greg Vendetti of Stoneham, Massachusetts in Los Angeles this Saturday, August 29th in a bout that’s also for the vacant IBO World Title. The 12-round fight can be seen live in North America on Fox and Fox Deportes. Lara won the vacant WBA title the last time out when he stopped Ramon Alvarez in the second round. Vendetti last boxed in July, 2019 when he beat Michael Anderson by 12-round unanimous decision for the vacant IBA World Belt.
Lara vs Vendetti Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Greg Vendetti +2450
- Erislandy Lara -4550
My Pick
The 37-year-old Lara is a southpaw who now fights out of Houston, Texas. He climbs into the ring at 26-3-3 with 15 Kos under his belt. He’s elusive with a lot of boxing skills but doesn’t have too much in the way of one-punch power as his knockout ratio currently stands at 47 per cent. He’s just 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 75-inch wingspan. Lara won the vacant IBO title by beating Delvin Rodriguez via unanimous decision in June, 2015. He won the interim WBA title in June, 2013 by stopping Alfredo Angulo in the 10th round after being dropped in the fourth and ninth rounds.
As well as defending his titles against Yuri Foreman, Vanes Martirosyan, and Delvin Rodriguez, Lara also defended them against Ishe Smith and Jan Zaveck. His three defeats have all been controversial and came at the hands of former 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 and a 10-round majority draw with Carlos Molina a year earlier.
Lara is an excellent technical boxer and his power may be a bit underrated. He’s often not the most exciting boxer around though, but bucked that trend against Hurd and Castano. He’s boxed 213 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.
As for Vendetti, he’s known as the Villain and is 30 years old. He enters the ring with a mark of 22-3-1 along with 12 Kos. He turned pro back in 2013 and has 122 rounds of experience under his belt since then. Vendetti is listed at being just 5-feet-6-inches tall with no reach information available. This puts him three inches shorter than the champion. His losses came at the hands of Antonio Chaves Fernandez by six-round split decision in 2013, a four-round majority decision to Pedro Gonzalez four months later and a second-round stoppage at the hands of Michael Soro in December, 2018.
Vendetti’s lone draw was a four-round split decision affair in 2013 with Antonio Chaves Fernandez. He’s basically a solid journeyman fighter who will be taking another big step up in class as he’s never faced a recognizable contender up to now other than Yoshihiro Kamegai in 2018. However, he looked impressive and beat the tough-as-nails Japanese boxer by 10-round unanimous decision. Vendetti did win the vacant USA New England Super Welterweight Title with an eight-round majority decision over Khiary Gray in June of 2017. He also has a pretty solid chin and possesses average power with a current knockout ratio of 46 per cent.
Prediction…
Lara has way more experience against top-level opponents and that will definitely help him even if he is 37 years old. He also has a solid chin, much better boxing skills and a three-inch height advantage. Lara can’t afford to underestimate Vendetti though as he did beat Kamegai. But as long as Lara lets his hands go he shouldn’t have much of a problem winning the fight.
Lara’s a couple of levels above Vendetti.
Play Lara -4550 @ BetOnline.ag
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Erislandy Lara betting • Greg Vendetti betting