Big prize may await winners in Showtime's 154-pound title bouts

LAS VEGAS -- Three super welterweight world titles will be at stake on Saturday on a Showtime-televised tripleheader at The Chelsea in The Cosmopolitan.

There will be a rematch between a Cuban nicknamed “The American Dream” and an Armenian who calls himself “The Nightmare,” as well as separate bouts involving twin brothers who are looking to make history as the first set of twins to become world champions at the same time and in the same division.

The true prize, though, may be a major fight down the line with either Canelo Alvarez or Gennady “Triple-G” Golovkin.

Let’s take a look at the trio of fights:

Erislandy Lara vs. Vanes Martirosyan

(For Lara’s WBA light middleweight title)

It’s been three-and-a-half years since a rather dull bout between Erislandy Lara and Vanes Martirosyan ended in a technical draw after the fight was stopped due to a cut Martirosyan suffered from an accidental head butt. Nobody was necessarily clamoring for a rematch between these two, but given the circumstances surrounding both fighters, it makes sense to pair them again.

Lara is one of those opponents that nobody is interested in fighting. His Cuban pedigree causes many of his fights to unfold in chess matches that aren’t necessarily exciting and often difficult for his opponent to figure out. Although he’s 22-2-2 with 13 knockouts, a case can be made for Lara being undefeated, or at worst 25-1. Many at ringside had him ahead in his fight against Martirosyan before that ugly fight ended in a draw. And his two losses against Canelo Alvarez and Paul Williams were of the highly disputed variety. As for his majority draw against Carlos Molina back in 2011, that was the one time that he may have received a gift from the judges.

“I’m always stuck in controversial fights because of my fighting style,” Lara said. “I’ll continue to do what I’ve been doing, but I have got to land some bigger punches to make this victory clean. I don’t feel I’ve ever lost a fight.”

As for Martirosyan, he’s coming off a majority decision victory over Ishe Smith but has lost to Jermell Charlo prior to that and dropped a split decision to Demetrius Andrade. In a division thick with talent, he simply cannot afford to lose a rematch with Lara at this stage of his career.

“This is definitely the most important fight of my career,” Martirosyan (36-2-1, 21 KOs) said. “It’s do or die. Win and I move 10 steps forward. Lose and I go 10 steps backwards.”

As important as this bout is to both fighters, many eyes will be on Lara. With the Cuban already being responsible for Canelo’s toughest fight to date other than his match with Floyd Mayweather, many think that a definitive victory over Martirosyan will put him right in the middle of the Canelo-Golovkin conversation. Should Canelo and GGG fail to strike a deal to face each other, Lara hopes that he can land a bout against one or the other.

“After I win Saturday, I would love to fight GGG or Canelo, but I would prefer GGG,” Lara said. But if he’s unable to land a bout with either, he understands the reasons. “I don’t want to say that fighters are scared to fight me but their team is intelligent to avoid me because of the difficult assignment I present because I can beat them.”

As long as he keeps eliminating competition, sooner or later everyone will have no choice but to fight Erislandy Lara.

Jermall Charlo Vs. Austin Trout

(For Charlo’s IBF light middleweight title)

This is a true litmus test for the unbeaten IBF light middleweight champion Jermall Charlo (23-0, 18 KOs), who wants to be mentioned when it comes to the elite 154-pounders in the game. And with an opponent in Austin Trout who has been in the ring with Alvarez, Lara and defeated Miguel Cotto, we’ll likely find out if Charlo is deserving of the spot. Trout (30-2, 17 KOs) certainly has an edge in the experience department. However, it’s unknown which way his career is going. Although he soundly defeated Miguel Cotto and was competitive against Alvarez, he was routed by Lara and dropped late. “No Doubt” Trout has bounced back with four consecutive victories against lesser opposition to put himself in position for the fight. Perhaps there’s a reason that Charlo opted for a voluntary title defense against Trout rather than step into the ring with the #1 contender to his title, fellow unbeaten rising star Julian Williams. But perhaps Charlo has bigger plans ahead.

“After this, I’m coming for the (160-pound fighters),” Charlo said. “To be a top pound-for-pound fighter you need to dominate different divisions and that is my goal.”

Could a victory mean that Charlo is also looking to crash the Canelo-GGG party?

Jermell Charlo vs. John Jackson

(For the vacant WBC Super Welterweight title)

The opportunity for the Charlo brothers to make history as the first set of twins to hold world titles at the same time in the same weight class starts with Jermell. Although he is also unbeaten, his portfolio is viewed as a notch below his brother. But he holds victories over Martirosyan, as well as Gabriel Rosado and Demetrious Hopkins. Facing John Jackson, the son of legendary hard-hitting Julian, is no short order but it’s a fight he’s expected to win. Jackson (20-2, 15 KOs) has won two straight after being knocked out by Andy Lee back in 2014 but hasn’t faced a fighter with the pedigree and raw talent of Jermell Charlo. Perhaps the easiest fight to pick on the card; it will be up to Charlo to make a name for himself with a victory and set the tone for the rest of the night.

“This is history in the making,” Charlo said earlier this week. “We never really thought about it like this. We knew we would be boxing and winning titles, but this is special. We have the opportunity to both be world champions at the same time.”