By Phil Rivera
On Tuesday, HBO boxing judge Harold Lederman was at the Mendez Boxing Gym, in New York City, for the Gennady Golovkin-Daniel Geale media day workouts. Lederman voiced his thoughts on some recent fights, as well as upcoming bouts and gave his take on this year in boxing half way into 2014.
The Boxing Tribune- What are your thoughts on the Canelo Alvarez-Erislandy Lara fight, who do you think won?
Harold Lederman– Well I have to be honest with you, I’m not crazy for runners. I just feel that boxing is entertainment, people pay to see a fight, I paid 55 dollars for the pay-per-view and I don’t want to see a guy run for 12-rounds. I’m not the kind of judge who would really score a fight for a runner unless he’s doing a lot. I just feel like the fighter has an obligation to entertain and if anybody was entertained by the way Lara fought forget it, I don’t understand it. Maybe he felt like that was the only way he could win, but I thought Canelo hit him a lot harder. I just felt Canelo won the fight.
The Boxing Tribune– How do you feel about Canelo going forward?
Harold Lederman– I think Canelo’s a star, he has tremendous talent for a 23-years-old, it’s amazing. He moves good, he punches good, he’s got good ring smarts, he’s the total package. I was ringside when he knocked out Ryan Rhodes in the last round and I was just very impressed with Canelo. He has a very bright future.
The Boxing Tribune– There has been talk of a possible Miguel Cotto-Canelo Alvarez bout in the near future, what are your thoughts on that?
Harold Lederman– I think that would be a fabulous fight, but I don’t believe the WBC is going to let Cotto out of his mandatory. I really believe that he’s going to end up fighting Marco Antonio Rubio and it isn’t a great fight but I think Cotto can get by him. Somewhere down the line I’d love to see Canelo go to 160 and fight Miguel Cotto, I think it would be sensational, I really do, I think it would be a great fight.
The Boxing Tribune– Does Chris Algieri have a chance to beat Manny Pacquiao in November?
Harold Lederman- Well, Chris has got a tough night ahead of him, and he had a tough night against Ruslan Provodnikov. I never thought he could beat Provodnikov, and I don’t think he could beat Manny Pacquiao. But listen, he pulled off one miracle, maybe he can pull off another one. You can’t take it away from the kid, he’s very good at what he does, he moves beautifully, he’s got a good jab and a decent right hand; he’s a runner, but he’s very good at it. So yeah you have to give him some chance, but I think Pacquiao is going to be an overwhelming favorite going into the fight.
The Boxing Tribune- Are you looking forward to the Floyd Mayweather- Marcos Maidana rematch?
Harold Lederman- Oh yeah, I think Floyd’s terrific, he doesn’t get old and it’ll be a good fight.
The Boxing Tribune– We’re just past the halfway point of 2014, how do you rate this year so far?
Harold Lederman– I think Cotto-Martinez was terrific. I think our show on Saturday night is going to be a very good show, with Gennady Golovkin and Daniel Geale being a former world champion. And a great semi-final with Bryant Jennings and Mike Perez that will definitely give you one of the top heavyweights in the world. So, I think there’s been some really good fights. I think Mayweather-Maidana the first time was a really good fight and I’m sure the second one will be a good fight. Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley was a pretty good fight. I think we’ve had some good fights in 2014.
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