Erislandy Lara vs. Vanes Martirosyan
Liam Brady, Staff Writer/Graphic Designer
I pick Erislandy Lara by decision in this fight. I feel Vanes Martirosyan will try his best to pressure Lara, and make him uncomfortable, as others have tried against him.
But Lara will be too elusive, too quick, and will pick him off from long range, en route to a wide points win.
Prediction: Lara
Ardy Ajoste, Graphic Designer
Prediction: Lara
Jack O’Connell, Staff Writer
The first matchup between these two was ugly. Head butts, long stretches of inactivity, Erislandy Lara doing laps around the ring while Vanes Martirosyan swings wildly. Let’s hope the second time around things run a bit more smoothly.
What version of Lara will show up, however? Will he plant his feet, stand his ground, and actually fight? Or will he go jog around the ring for 12 rounds and run away (pun completely intended) with the fight? Against a come-forward bruiser like Martirosyan, expect Lara do get in some decent cardio.
Lara should have no problem pot shotting Martirosyan from a distance. The jab will stick in place, accompanied by a couple crisp straight lefts. Martirosyan will chase and chase, scoring a few pushing right hands, but I expect things to be one-way traffic going Lara’s way.
However, I feel a disturbance in the boxing force. I sense robbery. Under the backing of promoter Al Haymon, Lara has not been a massive drawing force. Reportedly, his last fight against Jan Zaveck barely drew 300 people.
Martiroysan, while no superstar, has at least a more action-focused style to please fans. With a title belt, he would be given better marketability for future fights. If boxing is supposedly as corrupt as we think it is, I wouldn’t be surprised if Lara lost his belt by way of crap decision. Let’s hope not.
Prediction: Lara
Shelbi Keyes, Staff Writer
Erislandy Lara is looking for redemption Saturday night at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas in a rematch against Vanes Martirosyan. The two met four years ago in Las Vegas in a back-and-forth battle in which Lara dominated in the early rounds, but Martirosyan came on strong late before the bout was stopped due to a cut.
The fight ended in a technical draw because each man was ahead on one scorecard and the third was even. Not surprisingly, Lara and Martirosyan are both confident they will finish what they started four years ago.
Lara is a great technical boxer with a high ring IQ–he knows when to attack and he knows how to stay out of harm’s way. Lara’s accuracy and power make him extremely dangerous. His ability to work the ring coupled with his 75-inch reach mean he is often able to control the pace of the fight, frustrating his opponents.
Martirosyan has an impressive right hand and is always moving when throwing punches, which makes it hard for his opponents to counter. Martirosyan is also a well-conditioned fighter who has the stamina to go all 12 rounds when necessary. However, if he wants to pull off the upset on Saturday night, he needs to be more aggressive than he has been in recent fights.
I am expecting an exciting fight with both fighters looking for vengeance. I believe Lara’s ring intelligence along with being the more polished boxer will set him apart this time around. I am predicting Lara will be able to outbox Martirosyan and win via unanimous decision.
Prediction: Lara
Brandon Glass, Staff Writer
It should come as no surprise that I had Erislandy Lara winning the first fight against Vanes Martirosyan over four years ago. I expect Lara to win this fight, as he is the technically superior fighter. I’m not Harold Lederman. I don’t give fighters credit for coming forward alone, as was given to Vanes in the first matchup.
How effective are they in mounting an offense while coming forward? Especially when there are fighters like Lara, who can counter and punch effectively while moving backwards. To be fair, Vanes did land some solid punches during exchange, but Lara’s movement and counters frustrated him for most of that fight.
While Martirosyan is a serviceable Jr. Middleweight, I think he’s becoming more of a litmus test for world champions than becoming a champ, himself. The level of competition he and Lara both have faced, combined with how well they fared against that competition, speaks to how much they improved.
Lara has the edge in prominent opponents and I think he wins this fight more decisively than the first time–and that’s only if he doesn’t get the stoppage in the later rounds.
Prediction: Lara
Amber Williams, Photographer
Prediction: Lara
Alex Burgos, Editor-in-Chief
This could be a snoozer or exciting–depends what each guy brings to the table. I’d like to see both be aggressive, but that probably won’t happen. Vanes Martirosyan talks a good game, but he always goes through spells of inactivity in a fight and seems to cry foul when he isn’t awarded a decision. If he’s active, good things can happen.
Erislandy Lara is happy to do his best Willie Pep impression and duck and dodge all of Martirosyan’s punches all night, but when pressed (like he was against Alfredo Angulo) he’s also shown that he can fire back.
Lara can win this fight by throwing five punches circling around the ring for 12 rounds, but nobody wants to see that and that won’t do the Cuban’s career any favors.
If Lara puts the pedal to the metal he will gain a lot of fans and put an emphatic end to this two-fight rivalry. Either way, I think Lara is too skilled for Vanes and wins this one to retain his title.
Prediction: Lara
