Los Angeles, CA- In an exiting turn of events Josesito Lopez (30-4, 18 KOs) put on a gutsy performance in stopping Victor Ortiz (29-4-2, 22 KOs) Saturday night at the Staples Center. Ortiz was ahead on all three judges scorecards, but quit before the start of the 10th round due to an alleged broken jaw suffered from a Lopez left hook in that final 9th round. Ortiz had a huge PPV fight with Mexican star and WBC 154 lb. Champion Saul ?Canelo? Alvarez (40-0-1, 29 KOS) on September 15th. His original opponent was supposed to be Paul Williams who was in an unfortunate career ending motorcycle accident days after the fight was announced. Then James Kirkland (31-1, 27 KOS) was the next sacrificial lamb, then rejected the bout because he either wanted more money or was unfit to train for the proposed date due to a shoulder injury sustained in his last bout, a DQ win over Carlos ?Non Puncher? Molina (19-5-2, 6 KOs). Ortiz seemed a good fill in as he had some name value, even though he was disappointing in his prior bout, a KO loss to Floyd Mayweather last year, his second fight above 140 lbs.
LARA RANKED NUMBER 1 BY WBC AT 154 & SHARES SAME PROMOTER
As of June according to USA Today, Erislandy Lara (16-1, 11 KOs), a Cuban defector and former amateur world champion, is ranked #1 by the WBC to face Alvarez. Rather than stand behind the Cuban and give him his shot, Golden Boy Promotions, the promoter of both Lara and Alvarez has been mute. It appears that at this point, with circumstances out of their control they?ve been backed into a corner. His manager Luis De Cubas, possibly afraid of being ?blackballed? by the establishment has been silent as well. If there was a time to stand up for the fighter you represent, Louie this is it. It appears that me writing article after article isn?t enough, and considering I have no stake in the career of Lara, all of this ?ink? he?s getting from here to Albany, NY doesn?t seem to work. This isn?t the first story I?ve written about this issue but at this point it?s likely to be the last. For the WBC to gain any sort of credibility in my mind would be to force this matchup between the two. It?s obvious that neither the WBC, or Golden Boy has his best interests at hand. Lara has a stay busy fight against Freddie Hernandez (30-2, 20 KOs) on June 30th. If he wins that bout without any cuts or injuries he should not just be considered for the bout, Erislandy should get the opportunity to sign on the dotted line. It appears that the stars have aligned for the Cuban to get that big time chance at stardom that every Cuban boxer that leaves their homeland strives for. While some never live up to the promise their amateur credentials suggest, this is a case that if his representatives, and I am pointing the finger at Golden Boy Promotions and even manager Luis De Cubas, in this instance if they don?t do what?s in his best interests, serious action must and should be taken. It?s one thing to overlook Lara, who one may say is an unknown commodity, but what happened to fairness and due diligence? Doesn?t the WBC?s #1 ranking have any merit here?
