Erislandy Lara halts Yuri Foreman with 4th round KO
WBA light middleweight champion Erislandy Lara (24-2-2, 14 KOs) defeated former world champion Yuri Foreman (34-3, 10 KOs) by a fourth round KO on Friday night at Hialeah Park Racing and Casino in Miami, Florida.
The Cuban finished off Foreman with a left uppercut to the chin and retained his WBA belt for the fifth time.
After a tactical opening round, Lara picked up the pace and started to land some solid shots.
Lara remained in control and was awarded a knockdown in the third, although the Belarus fighter had tripped over Lara's leading leg.
However, there was no question about the knockdown in the fourth when Lara dropped Foreman with a crushing left uppercut.
After Foreman struggled to get back up, referee Richard Green stopped the fight at 1:47 of the round.
After the fight, Lara called out Gennady Golovkin and Saul Alvarez, who defeated him by a disputed points decision in July 2014.
"I’m ready to fight the best in the world, Golovkin, Canelo," said Lara. "Whoever is willing to step in the ring with me, I’m willing to fight."
Also on the card, former WBC super middleweight champion Anthony Dirrell (29-1-1, 24 KOs) and former WBA bantamweight champion Juan Carlos Payano (18-1, 9 KOs) both scored dominant TKO victories.
Amreican Dirrell punished Hungary's Norbert Nemesapati (24-4, 17 KOs) until the referee stopped the fight at the end of the sixth round, while Dominican Republic native Payano halted Mexico's Isao Gonzalo Carranza (15-8-1, 8 KOs) in the seventh.