Erislandi Lara
Encyclopedia
Erislandy Lara Santoya (born April 11, 1983) is a Cuba
n boxer
. The southpaw was the 2005 amateur world champion at welterweight.
In 2005 after Aragon stepped down Lara bested his countryman Yudel Jhonson Cedeno repeatedly and was sent to the world championships. There he avenged an earlier loss to Russian Andrey Balanov
, beat American Boyd Melson
, upset top favorite and Olympic champion Bakhtiyar Artayev
(31–22) and won Gold against Magomed Nurutdinov
(BLR).
Lara has lost twice to another Kazakh: Bakhyt Sarsekbayev
. In their only meeting he beat American world champ Demetrius Andrade
9:4.
In 2008 he made a second defection attempt, this time on a speed boat to Mexico, and succeeded. He has since made his way to Hamburg, Germany, where he joined former Olympic champions Odlanier Solis
, Yan Barthelemy and Yuriorkis Gamboa in the Arena Box-Promotion stable.
His following fight came on February 20 against Keith Gross, Erislandy Lara dropped Gross with a left hand, Gross beat the count on wobbly legs, Lara continue unleashing combinations to the head and body, a left uppercutt finished the fight in the 1st round.
On May 2, 2009 in the Pacquiao vs Hatton undercard, Lara faced Chris Gray, Lara won the fight via Unanimous Decision.
On May 22, Lara faced Aging Edwin Vazquez, Erislandy Lara finished the fight with good combinations which prompted the referee to stop the fight, On that same night Cuban fellow Guillermo Rigondeaux made his pro debut, which he won via referee stoppage in the third round.
After beating Edwin Vazquez, Erislandy Lara went on to win 9 straight fights, including four consecutive first round knock out victories. On March 25, 2011, he fought Carlos Molina to a 10 round majority draw. The scores were 97–93 for Molina, 95–95 and 95–95 even.
Lara fought former WBO Welterweight champion Paul Williams
on July 9, 2011, in Atlantic City, where he lost a majority decision. Judges Don Givens (116–114) and Hilton Whitaker II (115–114) both favored Williams, while Al Bennett scored it even at 114–114 . Almost all fans and boxing analysts believed that Lara had been robbed by the judges
|align="center" colspan=8|15 Wins (10 knockouts), 1 Loss, 1 Draw
|-
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Res.
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Record
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Opponent
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Type
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Rd., Time
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Date
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Location
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Notes
|-align=center
|Loss
|15–1–1
|align=left|
Paul Williams
|
|
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|align=left|
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|-align=center
|style="background:#abcdef;"|Draw||15–0–1||align=left|
Mexico Carlos Molina
|||||
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|-align=center
|Win||15–0||align=left| United States Delray Raines
|||||
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|Win||14–0||align=left| United States Tim Connors
|||||
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|-align=center
|Win||13–0||align=left| United States Willie Lee
|||||
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|Win||12–0||align=left|
Puerto Rico William Correa
|||||
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|Win||11–0||align=left| United States Danny Perez
|||||
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|Win||10–0||align=left| United States Grady Brewer
|||||
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|Win||9–0||align=left| Mexico Luciano Perez
|||||
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|Win||8–0||align=left|
Nicaragua Jose Varela
|||||
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|Win||7–0||align=left| United States Darnell Boone
|||||
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|Win||6–0||align=left| Puerto Rico Edwin Vazquez
|||||
|align=left|
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|Win||5–0||align=left| United States Chris Gray
|||||
|align=left|
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|Win||4–0||align=left| United States Keith Gross
|||||
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|Win||3–0||align=left| United States Rodrigo Aguiar
|||||
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|Win||2–0||align=left|
Latvia Deniss Aleksejevs
|||||
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|Win||1–0||align=left|
Russia Ivan Maslov
|||||
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Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
. The southpaw was the 2005 amateur world champion at welterweight.
Amateur career
In 2003 and 2004 Lara lost four times against double world champ Lorenzo Aragon.In 2005 after Aragon stepped down Lara bested his countryman Yudel Jhonson Cedeno repeatedly and was sent to the world championships. There he avenged an earlier loss to Russian Andrey Balanov
Andrey Balanov
Andrey Vladimirovich Balanov is a former Russian amateur boxer best known for winning the 2006 European Amateur Boxing Championships at welterweight and being part of the Russian 2005 team at the Boxing World Cup.-Career:...
, beat American Boyd Melson
Boyd Melson
Boyd "Rainmaker" Melson is an American light middleweight boxer.As an amateur, Melson won the 48th World Military Boxing Championship gold medal in the 69 kg. weight class, and was a four-time United States Army champion, a three-time NCBA All-American boxer, a four-time West Point Brigade...
, upset top favorite and Olympic champion Bakhtiyar Artayev
Bakhtiyar Artayev
Bakhtiyar Karipullauly Artayev is a Kazakh boxer who won the only Gold medal for Kazakhstan in the men's welterweight division at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He was also the Winner of the Val Barker Trophy for the outstanding boxer of the 2004 Olympics Games...
(31–22) and won Gold against Magomed Nurutdinov
Magomed Nurutdinov
Magomed Nurutdinov/Mahamed Nurudzinau is a Belarusian amateur boxer who boxed at the Olympics 2008 at welterweight and later became European cha....
(BLR).
Lara has lost twice to another Kazakh: Bakhyt Sarsekbayev
Bakhyt Sarsekbayev
Bakhyt Abdirakhmanovich Sarsekbayev is a Kazakh amateur boxer who won Olympic Gold 2008 at Welterweight. At the 2006 Asian Games he had also won the gold medal in the welterweight division.-Career:...
. In their only meeting he beat American world champ Demetrius Andrade
Demetrius Andrade
Demetrius "Boo Boo" Andrade is a professional boxer from the United States best known for winning the 2007 world championships as an amateur. He made his professional debut October 23, 2008. Demetrius represented the United States in the 2008 Olympics...
9:4.
World Cup
- 20052005 Boxing World Cup-Cuba-Thailand:-Cuba-Romania:-Romania-Thailand:-Final ranking:-Russia-Belarus:-United States-Belarus:-Russia-United States:-Final ranking:-Georgia-Kazakhstan:-Georgia-Africa:-Africa-Kazakhstan:-Final ranking:-Azerbaijan-South Korea:...
in Moscow, Russia (welterweight)- Defeated Manon Boonjumnong (Thailand) 21–9
- Defeated Stefan Dragomir (Romania) RSC-3
- Defeated Bakhyt SarsekbayevBakhyt SarsekbayevBakhyt Abdirakhmanovich Sarsekbayev is a Kazakh amateur boxer who won Olympic Gold 2008 at Welterweight. At the 2006 Asian Games he had also won the gold medal in the welterweight division.-Career:...
(Kazakhstan) 39–33 - Lost to Andrey BalanovAndrey BalanovAndrey Vladimirovich Balanov is a former Russian amateur boxer best known for winning the 2006 European Amateur Boxing Championships at welterweight and being part of the Russian 2005 team at the Boxing World Cup.-Career:...
(Russia) 21–36
Failed Defection and Pro career
In 2007, Erislandy Lara, together with superstar Guillermo Rigondeaux, defected from Cuba before the PanAm games. Some weeks later he was caught by Brazilian authorities and was returned to Cuba, where he was banned from practicing boxing indefinitely.In 2008 he made a second defection attempt, this time on a speed boat to Mexico, and succeeded. He has since made his way to Hamburg, Germany, where he joined former Olympic champions Odlanier Solis
Odlanier Solis
Odlanier Solís Fonte is a Cuban professional boxer. He won the Olympic Gold medal in Athens 2004 and was a three time winner at the World Amateur Boxing Championships.-Amateur career:...
, Yan Barthelemy and Yuriorkis Gamboa in the Arena Box-Promotion stable.
Pro career
On January 1 of 2009, Lara made his ESPN debut against Rodrigo Aguiar, Lara won the fight via TKO in the 1st round.His following fight came on February 20 against Keith Gross, Erislandy Lara dropped Gross with a left hand, Gross beat the count on wobbly legs, Lara continue unleashing combinations to the head and body, a left uppercutt finished the fight in the 1st round.
On May 2, 2009 in the Pacquiao vs Hatton undercard, Lara faced Chris Gray, Lara won the fight via Unanimous Decision.
On May 22, Lara faced Aging Edwin Vazquez, Erislandy Lara finished the fight with good combinations which prompted the referee to stop the fight, On that same night Cuban fellow Guillermo Rigondeaux made his pro debut, which he won via referee stoppage in the third round.
After beating Edwin Vazquez, Erislandy Lara went on to win 9 straight fights, including four consecutive first round knock out victories. On March 25, 2011, he fought Carlos Molina to a 10 round majority draw. The scores were 97–93 for Molina, 95–95 and 95–95 even.
Lara fought former WBO Welterweight champion Paul Williams
Paul Williams (boxer)
Paul Williams is an American boxer and is the former two-time WBO welterweight champion.With a height of six-feet-one inch, Paul is considered extremely tall for the three divisions he campaigns in: Welterweight, Jr...
on July 9, 2011, in Atlantic City, where he lost a majority decision. Judges Don Givens (116–114) and Hilton Whitaker II (115–114) both favored Williams, while Al Bennett scored it even at 114–114 . Almost all fans and boxing analysts believed that Lara had been robbed by the judges
Professional record
|-|align="center" colspan=8|15 Wins (10 knockouts), 1 Loss, 1 Draw
|-
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Res.
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Record
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Opponent
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Type
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Rd., Time
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Date
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Location
| align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Notes
|-align=center
|Loss
|15–1–1
|align=left|
Paul WilliamsPaul Williams (boxer)
Paul Williams is an American boxer and is the former two-time WBO welterweight champion.With a height of six-feet-one inch, Paul is considered extremely tall for the three divisions he campaigns in: Welterweight, Jr...
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|-align=center
|style="background:#abcdef;"|Draw||15–0–1||align=left|
Mexico Carlos MolinaCarlos Amado Molina
Carlos Amado Molina is a Mexican professional boxer in the Light Middleweight division. He is the former WBO NABO Light Middleweight Champion.-Amateur career:...
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|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||15–0||align=left|
United States Delray Raines|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||14–0||align=left|
United States Tim Connors|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||13–0||align=left|
United States Willie Lee|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||12–0||align=left|
Puerto Rico William Correa|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||11–0||align=left|
United States Danny Perez|||||
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|-align=center
|Win||10–0||align=left|
United States Grady BrewerGrady Brewer
Grady Brewer, , is a professional boxer. A former IBA Light Middleweight titleholder, he is the 2006 winner of the ESPN reality show, The Contender. Outside the ring, he works at the Goodyear plant in Lawton to support his wife and four children.In a family of boxers, it was natural that Brewer...
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|-align=center
|Win||9–0||align=left|
Mexico Luciano Perez|||||
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|-align=center
|Win||8–0||align=left|
Nicaragua Jose Varela|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||7–0||align=left|
United States Darnell Boone|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||6–0||align=left|
Puerto Rico Edwin Vazquez|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||5–0||align=left|
United States Chris Gray|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||4–0||align=left|
United States Keith Gross|||||
|align=left|
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|-align=center
|Win||3–0||align=left|
United States Rodrigo Aguiar|||||
|align=left|
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|-align=center
|Win||2–0||align=left|
Latvia Deniss Aleksejevs|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-align=center
|Win||1–0||align=left|
Russia Ivan Maslov|||||
|align=left|
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