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Rumors continue to come out of Las Vegas concerning the undercard of the upcoming September 14 clash between Floyd Mayweather Jr and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.
The latest reports speculate that WBC/WBA “Super” light welter champ Danny Garcia will defend against Interim WBC beltholder Lucas Matthysse and ex-WBA light middle champ Austin Trout will challenge Interim WBA titlist Erislandy Lara.
Danny Garcia, 26-0 (16), is coming off a very difficult title defense over Zab Judah in April, while in May, Matthysse, 34-2 (32), impressively took out IBF titlist Lamont Peterson and if this bouts does occur, it should be a barn burner.
Lucas Matthysse is the biggest puncher in the division and the Argentine slugger will provide a stern test for the chin of Garcia, who will challenge the stamina of Matthysse, who has only been past ten rounds on one occasion, a controversial split decision loss to Judah for the NABO title in 2010.
This should be a dangerous one for Garcia, who to date, arguably hasn’t faced a top fighter in their prime. Since October 2011, the Philadelphian has fought a shot Kendall Holt, aging blown up former super feather Morales, a past it Amir Khan and had all he could handle from Judah, who is years down the road from his best.
But is Matthysse truly a top fighter? The bout against Garcia should provide the answer to that question.
If Erislandy Lara, 18-1-2 (12), vs. Austin Trout, 26-1 (14), happens it will be a clash of skilled southpaws at the top of their respective games.
Erislandy Lara is coming off a hard fought stoppage victory last month over Mexican brawler Alfredo Angulo, with the Cuban twice having to come off the canvas, while Trout lost his WBA crown to Saul Alvarez in April, hitting the floor once himself.
With Trout having faced Miguel Cotto and Alvarez, he’s engaged with the better competition than Lara, who counts as his best opponents Paul Williams, Angulo and Vanes Martirosyan, who held Lara to a draw in November.
Austin Trout should be the favorite as Lara is an inconsistent fighter but if the Cuban is on point on September 14, it will be two straight losses for “No Doubt”.
