by David P. Greisman

Erislandy Lara’s style has brought him success, but it has also worked to his detriment.

He is one of the best junior middleweights in the world. But he’s also had performances that failed to thrill viewers, and his emphasis on defense instead of offense may have cost him the fight last year when he lost to Canelo Alvarez.

Nevertheless, his trainer, Ronnie Shields sees no reason whatsoever for Lara to change — not for the sake of the fighter, nor for the sake of fans.

“Absolutely not. I don’t see anything wrong with Erislandy’s style,” Shields said. “People have to understand that this is who Erislandy is. Erislandy is not the kind of guy who’s going to stand up and go toe-to-toe with you to please anyone. It’s his style of fighting. That’s how he learned how to fight. Why should I change that? For what?

“He’s been very successful. It kills me because nobody would fight Paul Williams, and when Erislandy stepped up and fought Paul Williams everybody loved the way he fought him. Now they hate his style. I don’t understand that,” he said. “It’s just who is. Why should Erislandy have to kneel and bend down to an opponent when he doesn’t fight that way?”

Shields pointed to the way certain teams play in other sports, picking out one top basketball team as an example.

“I remember a couple years ago when the San Antonio Spurs beat the Miami Heat in the Finals, and they had this slow, dragging out style, and people hated that,” Shields said. “But you know what? That worked for the San Antonio Spurs. This is why they beat the Miami Heat in the championship. They don’t change. Why should you change for someone else? You have to be who you are.”

The interviewer then played devil’s advocate, noting that the Spurs would have their 82 games each season no matter what style of play they had, and that those wins would get them in the playoffs. Lara, however, doesn’t have his future guaranteed. Whether fair ot not, people might judge him based on his style, and because of that opportunities may not come.

“He’s gotten plenty of opportunities,” Shields countered. “When you look at Erislandy, everybody’s been taking about him for all these years, saying his style is ugly. But you know what, sooner or later, the big fights come to him. Why? Because they run out of opponents. Talk about Erislandy as they will, but Erislandy is one of the best fighters they’re ever going to see.”

And Shields compared the way Lara fights to the way one of the best boxers ever once was in the ring.

“Muhammad Ali had the same exact style. He moved around until he got older and didn’t have legs anymore. That’s the only time he ever sat down, because that’s all he ever had left,” Shields said. “If Erislandy ever get into that position where he can’t move anymore, that’s when it’s time for him to retire.”

Pick up a copy of David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide. Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com