Erislandy Lara Set To Face Danny Garcia After Michael Zerafa Backs Out
Erislandy Lara and Danny Garcia are reportedly set to square off on August 5th, 2023.
According to reports, the Lara (29-3) and Garcia (37-3) bout will be at 160 lbs. The middleweight bout will be a first for Garcia, who is accustomed to fighting at 147 lb.
His last fight was at 154 lbs, the first of his career, against Jose Benavidez Jr. The fight promises to be intriguing in more ways than one. Both men have suffered from inactivity, with only five fights in the last six years.
Not only that but Garcia has been given an opportunity to face the WBA ‘regular’ champion after Michael Zerafa sidestepped the fight against Lara, despite being the mandatory challenger.
Erislandy Lara-Danny Garcia Title Fight Approved By WBA; Winner To Face Michael Zerafa https://t.co/m71lcCMWG0 pic.twitter.com/6BYKRspYdN
— BoxingScene.com (@boxingscene) May 4, 2023
The latter now faces Garcia, with Zerafa being on the undercard. This is not the first time that Zerafa has done such a thing.
He chose to avoid IBF middleweight champion Esquiva Falcao by not going ahead with a purse bid to pursue Lara. With that being said, Zerafa’s manager cleared up the motive behind it.
“The money was substantial enough plus the fact he’s now going to be trained by Jimmy Montoya, a legendary trainer who’s trained 20 world champions, this is going to be their first fight to have an opportunity to work together and gel together.
“In that respect, it’s good for that as well to give them a chance to really know each other and work together then get ready for the big fight which is looking like November,” Elvis Grant
Nevertheless, those sentiments were not echoed by former three-weight-world champion Jeff Fenech. Having won a world title, Fenech questioned Zarafa’s decision.
“For me, winning the title would be more important than any money. I never fought for money. I fought for my legacy and fought for being great.
“Money can’t buy legacy. Money can’t buy reality. Money can’t buy you being world champion.
“12 months down the track, if Michael becomes world champion, we might be sitting here and saying, ‘S***, Michael’s done something really smart,” Fenech