By Reynaldo "El Papi Chulo" Sanchez

Luis DeCubas Jr., manager of IBO and WBA super welterweight world champion Erislandy Lara 23-2-2 (13 KO's), believes the fight with Yuri Foreman - scheduled for January 13 at Hialeah Park Racing & Casino, Hialeah, Florida - is a good way to keep the Cuban active while they wait for better challenges in 2017.

"Erislandy has faced the best and keeps his status as an elite boxer as super welterweight. Lara, in my opinion, defeated Canelo Alvarez despite what the judges said that night. At the moment, he is undoubtedly one of the best in his weight class, and we took this fight against Foreman to keep Lara active," said DeCubas Jr.

Lara’s team has tried to face the best fighters within their reach, but they have not been able to secure any agreement at the moment. Lara, despite the criticism, is still one of the best super welterweight.

"We are in the best position, but now we are focused on Yuri Foreman who is a former world champion and gave Miguel Cotto a great fight. Later we will see what happens. We want to make a fight with undefeated Demetrius Andrade or a unification fight and maybe a mega-fight against Golovkin at middleweight," said DeCubas Jr.

Golovkin (36-0, 33KOs) is scheduled to make a mandatory defense of middleweight titles on March 18th against Daniel Jacobs at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Lara's manager says they are ready to make that fight.

"People think everyone is avoiding Golovkin. They say no one wants to fight Gennady, but we are ready to make that fight. Lara has the perfect style to make a great fight and defeat Golovkin at middleweight," DeCubas said.

"Erislandy Lara has proven to be one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. He has faced the best and he's beaten them, including 'Canelo' Alvarez and we all saw it. If the money is right, we would love to do a mega-fight against the best middleweight in the world as Genaddy Golovkin."