By Benny Henderson Jr. – BoxingTalk.com
Although Zab Judah and Paul Malignaggi are the headliners on the December 7th show in Brooklyn, New York, the two best boxers on the card may be Erislandy Lara and Austin Trout, who will fight each other that night with Showtime broadcasting. Although the WBA recognizes Floyd Mayweather as its 154-pound super champion, Landy considers this WBA regular title bout to be a true championship contest. Read what Landy has to say about his rapidly approaching fight against Trout.
Benny Henderson:
You’ll be fighting Austin Trout on December 7th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York for the vacant WBA regular junior middleweight title. How big is this fight for your career?
Erislandy Lara:
A win against Austin Trout will open up many doors for my career. When I beat Alfredo Angulo, it was a dream come true for me to capture the WBA interim championship, which to me was a world title fight. Although they say this fight is for the vacant title, I consider myself the current champion.
BH:
With the fight less than two weeks away, can you tell us how training camp has been going?
EL:
Training camp is going as planned. I’ve been getting a lot of good sparring. My core team is here with me in Houston, Texas: my managers Luis DeCubas Jr., Bob Santos and my trainer Ronnie Shields. Right now we are just working hard, focusing on beating Austin Trout. We have a great game plan ready to go.
BH:
What kind of problems does Austin Trout present?
EL: Trout is a good fighter who does a lot of things well in the ring. I will have to be mentally and physically prepared for anything he brings. The fact that he’s a southpaw will not be a problem. I’ve fought many southpaws in the amateurs and have had great success against them in the pros. Against Paul Williams, I thought I clearly won that fight, but I was robbed. I’m going to fight my fight and Trout will have to adjust to my style.
BH: Against Alfredo Angulo, you showed great resilience winning by technical knockout after coming off the canvas twice. Can you talk about your will to win and handling adversity?
EL: I was in great shape going into that fight and I wasn’t going to be denied. Alfredo Angulo is a pressure fighter who has a lot of power in both hands, so I had to use my feet to get into position to get off my shots. Although he caught me with a couple of good punches, I was able to get up and finish him off. I credit a great training camp with my team. We worked really hard to get in great shape.
BH: Are you going to do anything different in this fight?
EL: Trout brings a different style to the ring and like I said, I’ll have to be fully prepared for whatever he brings. There will be some changes because he’s a southpaw but I have complete confidence in my game plan to come out victorious.
BH: Any last words for your fans?
EL: I just want to thank all my fans for their support. Everything is coming together and soon you will see why I’m not going to be denied when I step in the ring on December 7th.