The co-main event of the Canelo Alvarez and Edgar Berlanga fight card will feature two veterans of boxing — Danny Garcia and Erislandy Lara. At 41, Lara is the oldest active world champion in boxing. Meanwhile, the 36-year-old boxer, hailing from Philadelphia, will be returning to the ring after a two-year hiatus. Lara will be defending his WBA middleweight championship against Garcia. However, there is a catch — the bout that was initially supposed to take place at the 160-pound weight limit will now happen at the 157-pound catchweight.

The change was a result of Garcia’s inability to make weight at 160. Therefore, a new catchweight of 157 was negotiated by the two teams. Even though the catchweight was finalized a while ago, after the weigh-ins, the new weights were confirmed once and for all. After the weigh-ins, both appeared to have made the catchweight. Though it appeared comparatively more difficult for Lara than for Garcia. Lara weighed in at 156¾ lbs whereas Swift weighed in at 156¼ lbs.

ESPN’s Mike Coppinger took to X to inform the fans of the same. “The Erislandy Lara-Danny Garcia middleweight title fight tomorrow – the co-feature to Canelo-Berlanga – will be contested at a 157-pound catchweight. Lara is now 41 and his last fight at 154 was in August 2020.”

In his previous three fights, the Cuban native weighed in at the 160 lbs mark. Meanwhile, Garcia has mostly fought in the welterweight or super lightweight division. It was only in his last fight in 2022 against Jose Benavidez Jr that he made the jump to the super welterweight division.

However, will the title be on the line? As things stand, Erislandy Lara’s super-middleweight title will be at stake. The new developments in the co-main event fight card have caused a lot of boxing fans to become disgruntled as it takes away from the competitiveness of the fight.

Meanwhile, a lot is on the line for the organizers of the Canelo vs Berlanga headliner event, as it will be butting heads with the Noche UFC (UFC-306). Although the showcase boxing event on Mexican Independence Day was having early success with tickets well on their way to being sold out, the UFC event is also catching up big time, achieving a $23 million record gate collection, and shattering their previous record of $17.7 million from UFC 205. Moreover, the UFC is also doing well in another crucial domain with Dana White announcing that the event has done “most pre-buys on pay-per-view ever.”

Meanwhile, judging by the fans’ sentiment in the comment section, it seems that they are slowly losing interest in the boxing card even though it has some of the biggest names in the business. So, without further ado, let’s see why the fans aren’t happy with the event.

Is the co-main event not appealing enough for fans?

One fan enquired if the Erislandy Lara vs Danny Garcia fight will be for the title. They commented, “So it’s not a title fight anymore?” Despite being a catchweight fight at 157, since the weight limit is 160 lbs, the fight will be a title fight. Apart from Canelo defending his unified super middleweight title against Berlanga, the Cuban boxer’s fight against Garcia will be the only other title fight. The Caleb Plant fight will be for the Interim WBA title.

One fan called the entire fight card “trash”. They commented, “Whole card is now officially trash.” It must be pointed out that in spite of the harsh criticism, the fight card features some big names, apart from the event headliners, like Caleb Plant, Rolando Romero, Stephen Fulton, and Roiman Villa.

One fan pointed out that it might be the last fight for both Garcia and Lara before they hang up their boxing gloves for good. Moreover, they hinted that even an “old” Lara would be a handful for Garcia. They stated, “Honestly I’m having a hard time picturing Danny as a viable middleweight and even an old Lara will be too tricky for him”. Reportedly, Garcia is taking the fight because he wants to achieve his dream of becoming a three-division champion, while ‘The American Dream’ feels that the fight will be crucial to help him enter the hallowed International Boxing Hall of Fame.

One fan claimed that they had “zero” interest in the fight. They commented, “Such a weird fight with no story at all. Zero interest in this fight or its outcome.” It is quite clear that both fighters will be fighting for legacy. There was little to no trash-talking in the buildup to this fight. Furthermore, both boxers are at the tail end of their career, which might be one of the reasons why people don’t have any interest in the fight.

Nevertheless, would you be interested in watching the co-main event fight between Danny Garcia and Erislandy Lara on the Canelo-Berlanga card? Let us know in the comment section below.