The ongoing saga surrounding the next opponent for WBC junior middleweight champion Saul Alvarez continues by the day.
The red-haired superstar from Mexico, Alvarez has already seen three opponents, Paul Williams, James Kirkland, and Victor Ortiz, fall through for his next date and there is still much mystery surrounding his September 15th showcase at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
On Saturday night, two men with a vested interest in facing Alvarez stated their case with commanding victories.
Playing their part in a ShoBox: The New Generation tripleheader from the Fantasy Springs Resort and Casino in Indio, California, Erislandy Lara would win a decision over Freddy Hernandez over ten rounds while Cornelius Bundrage stopped Cory Spinks in the seventh round of their rematch to successfully defend his IBF junior middleweight bauble.
Catching up with Lara backstage after his victory, the Cuban southpaw told myself and BoxingScene.com?s Ernest Gabion that he is prepared for a meeting with Alvarez and anyone else in the junior middleweight class.
?I took care of my job, which is what I wanted to do,? said Lara of his victory. ?I?m ready for Canelo Alvarez and whoever it is. I?m the best 154-pound fighter in the world.?
Lara was then reminded that the public will likely never look at him as the premier fight in his class unless he is able to lure someone like Alvarez into the ring.
?No doubt about it. You?ve got to fight the best to beat the best,? Lara would admit.
In the evening?s main event, Bundrage fought a bit of a sloppy battle with St. Louis? Spinks, yet still managed to put some hurt on his opponent, dropping him three times in the contest. The end would come in the seventh round when an exhausted Spinks was mauled by Bundrage, with referee ( ) wisely halting the action.
Afterwards, Bundrage couldn?t stop talking about a fight with Alvarez and was asked how he would beat Canelo if given the chance.
?By fighting him,? stated Bundrage. ?I?m the black Rocky.?
It should be noted that Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer has claimed he already has an opponent lined up and that the results of last night?s card had no impact on his decision-making, meaning that neither Lara or Bundrage were on his radar.
And while there has been interest from some towards Lara challenging Bundrage, don?t hold your breath for that one either. While Lara?s trainer Ronnie Shields expressed to me how much he would like the fight, Bundrage?s trainer Emanuel Steward feels it is a meaningless fight, stating to me that he is only looking for ?big fights? for his fighter this late into his career.
