by James Slater: This Saturday, in the city of Manchester, against Ricky Hatton, 33-year-old Juan Lazcano will be engaging in his first fight for fifteen months. Yet in a recent interview with Sky Sports, the Mexican/American believes his best days are still in front of him and that he is destined for greatness. Being older at age 33 and not having won a fight since 2006 are not factors that concern Lazcano..
“I know I am a little older. I turned 33 this year but it’s a symbolic meaningful year for me being that my birthday fell on Easter Sunday,” Lazcano said. “You’ll be like, ‘Ok, so what?,’ well, I turned 33 and there was actually a resurrection within my being.”
Readers will have gathered the fact by now that Lazcano is a very religious and spiritual person. Juan went on to speak further about his faith in Jesus.
“I am a spiritual person, I believe in Jesus Christ,” Lazcano continued. “I believe in the power of the resurrection and I believe that power is within me and I will use that power to move forward and make the most of a wonderful opportunity.”
Not the first fighter to be hugely religious, nor certainly the last, Lazcano truly feels he is on the way to the finest moments of an already notable boxing career. Juan certainly believes his best days await him in the ring.
“I’ve evolved not only as a person and I just think that more than anything, it’s a mental thing,” the 33-year-old stated. “I’m ready to enter the promised land. I’m ready for greatness now. I’m taking this challenge [the Hatton fight] seriously, the best fighter will win and believe me, I am the best fighter. I’m an athlete and a professional fighter and I’m coming to fight. Ricky Hatton is a truly great warrior and it’s an honour for me to fight a great warrior. I’m a gentleman as well and I acknowledge if someone has a tremendous heart like Ricky Hatton, so it’s an honour for me to do battle with him.”
Lazcano, as honoured as he is to be facing Hatton, also feels he will one day face current pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather.
“For so long Floyd Mayweather was there, for so long Floyd Mayweather was there and for some reason the fight never came about. Floyd knows it too – if there is someone out there who can beat him, believe me, it’s Juan Lazcano.”
Let’s see what happens on Saturday night before anyone looks at a possible Mayweather-Lazcano fight. But something tells me Ricky Hatton just might have his hands full at the weekend.