Erislandy Lara And Danny Garcia To Face Off

Lara will be defending his WBA Middleweight title

Lara and Garcia final meet up before the match /

By Daniel Mukenya

With both boxers approaching the end of their careers, Erislandy Lara (41), and Danny Garcia (31) still have plenty to give.

Lara's title defense will co-headline Canelo vs. Berlanga bout on September 14th. The fighters went face-to-face at the final press conference on Thursday before their clash this Saturday.

Erislandy Lara will defend his WBA middleweight world championship title against Danny Garcia.

Erislandy Lara (30-3-3, 18 KOs) is a Cuban American professional boxer currently the WBA middleweight champion since 2021. Lara aims to continue his resurgence with a high-profile clash against the former two-division champion Garcia.

Danny Garcia (37-3, 21 KOs) is an American professional boxer. Held multiple championships in two weight classes including WBA, WBC, Ring magazine and lineal light welterweight titles between 2012 and 2015, and the WBC welterweight title from 2016 to 2017.

Garcia last fought two years ago to challenge Jose Benavidez. While Garcia likes to comfortably sit things out, Lara fights like he has something to prove. He has won four of his last five fights by knockouts.

Both fighters prefer to counterpunch, and this fight could easily turn into a staring contest.

Lara is considered a technical sharpshooter, but due to the age, the fighter has lost his legs and some upper body movement that made him one of the most dominant junior middleweights ever, so he is compensated by finally sitting on his shots and becoming a more offensive fighter.

At his best, Danny Garcia was a strong junior welterweight champion and a formidable welterweight champion. Though he has an iron chin, he does not fight in a wild manner where Lara could uncork him like that.

“I am just focused on being ready mentally and physically to do anything it takes to win this fight. Danny is a great fighter and a champion at lower weight classes, but middleweight is a different beast. We will find out on Saturday,” said Erislandy Lara in a press conference.

“I feel like I am already a Hall of Famer, this belt could be the icing on the cake. Winning three divisions is about legacy, few fighters do that. I am chasing greatness,” said Danny Garcia in media reports.