Erislandy Lara is a survivor. He has pushed the boundaries of his generation, resisted the pitfalls that have kept others away from boxing, and remains a respected and important name, despite being well into his 41st year.
Without fanfare, he went further than anyone else and who knows how much more he can achieve if he defeats Danny Garcia this Saturday in Las Vegas.
What is really interesting is that Lara is taken for granted. Perhaps because of his calm personality, he never managed to attract crowds, nor did people await his fights with the anticipation that usually precedes great sportsmen at major events.
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He was expected to enter the ring as one expects the arrival of day and night, as something natural and without palpitations in the chest. His name was mentioned and it was understood that a pure and precise display of boxing was expected, clean and without ostentation, but always effective.
Perhaps that is the best and the tragedy of Lara, the fact of being taken with such high expectations without generating the passion that was seen in the best times of Yuriorkis Gamboa or the cynicism with which Guillermo Rigondeaux’s fights were awaited, to mention two of his compatriots who, for other reasons, aroused another kind of notoriety.
With Lara, you knew what to expect. Without doing more or less. His clash against Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo was brutal, his clash against Brian Castano kept the public on the edge of their seats, while his encounter against Jarred Hurd was considered the Fight of the Year in 2017.
None of that mattered and many considered and considered the Cuban as a boring boxer.
When excellence is the norm, it becomes routine. Lara always lived within that mold. If the rival demanded it, he could fight in a telephone booth. If the opponent did not present an imminent danger, he dedicated himself to using his weaknesses until he disarmed him, but without beating his chest or tearing his clothes.
And between fights, he disappeared. In times where people live more on social media than in reality, Lara was better off in his own world, away from cameras and spotlights, just waiting for the call from his manager Luis De Cubas Jr. to tell him about his next fight and against whom.
Then he would reappear and throw himself into the gym. He had won several world titles, as was expected. That he has been in the elite for more than 15 years is something normal.
What is demanded of other greats in Lara is taken for granted. Fortunately, Lara is not one to stop and contemplate his trophies and sashes. And whether people speak well or badly, or not at all, that does not keep him awake at night.
Lara has been surprised by the only one that, like his longevity has stood the test of time his controversial defeat against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, who today is not the best boxer in the world, but is undoubtedly the face of this sport.
The split decision in favor of the Mexican is still being debated and fans remain in two irreconcilable camps. Some say that Canelo won with his body shots, others say that the Cuban took him to school and exposed his shortcomings.
This is another minor tragedy, that Lara is remembered much more for that dubious loss to Canelo than for all his other victories. Nothing that happens, then, this Saturday against Garcia will alter the fans’ perception of him. Win or lose, Lara’s “normality” will prevail over everything else.
We will have to wait, then, for the relentless passage of time to admire in more detail Lara’s monumental career, his intelligence in the ring, his ability to adapt to changes on the fly from round to round, from fight to fight, to resist injustices such as his clash with Paul Williams, when the robbery was blatant.
As a professional, Lara has greater credentials than anyone else of her generation. Someday, after the dust settles on his retirement, he will be seen in a convertible on the streets of Canastota on his way to the Hall of Fame.
That day, perhaps, we will understand once and for all the true weight of Lara in Cuba and the world of boxing.
