Erislandy Lara vs. Jan Zaveck: Fight Time, Date, Live Stream and TV Info

Erislandy Lara should receive a hero's welcome in his former home of South Florida on Sunday, as he looks to defend his WBA and IBO World junior middleweight titles against the elder Jan Zaveck in the main event on the latest edition of the Premier Boxing Champions series.

Lara, who was born in Cuba and now fights out of Houston, is one of the top boxers in the junior middleweight ranks. The Ring has him second in his division, behind only Canelo Alvarez. He brings a crafty, defensive (but not boring) style to the squared circle and has acquitted himself well against top names like Austin Trout, Paul Williams and Alvarez in his career.

The 39-year-old Zaveck is well past his prime and should be a huge underdog to Lara. He'll need every bit of wisdom that he's picked up over a long career if he is to upset Lara on Wednesday evening.

Here's the date, fight time and viewing info for the bout.

Erislandy Lara vs. Jan Zaveck Fight Info

Date: Wednesday, Nov. 24

Time: Televised card begins at 5 p.m. ET

Where: Hialeah Park Racing & Casino in Hialeah, Florida

TV: ESPN or ESPN Deportes

Live Stream: WatchESPN (also available in Spanish)


Bout Preview

Erislandy Lara		Jan Zaveck
21-2-2, 12 KOs	Record	35-3-0, 19 KOs
48%	KO percentage	49%
Southpaw	Stance	Orthodox
32	Age	39
5'9"	Height	5'7.5"
74"	Reach	N/A

For Lara, Wednesday's fight represents a homecoming of sorts. Santos A. Perez, writing for the Miami Herald, explains: 

"

In his quest for professional stardom, Erislandy Lara sacrificed many pleasures dear to his heart.

A native of Cuba, Lara left the comforts of Miami and resettled in Houston, where his trainer, Ronnie Shields, lives. Moreover, as he ascended the super-welterweight rankings and eventually became a world champion, Lara returned to South Florida only for visits but never to fight.

"

Lara expects a heavy Cuban contingent supporting him in Hialeah, per PBC on Twitter:

Lara has already fought on one PBC card. He easily outboxed heavy underdog Delvin Rodriguez in a lopsided, unanimous-decision victory on June 12, a bout in which he picked up the vacant IBO strap to go along with his WBA title.

His two bouts prior to that were a comprehensive decision win over Ishe Smith in December 2014 and a tough split-decision loss to Alvarez in July of that year, a bout in which one could make a pretty convincing argument that it should've gone to Lara.

Like Rodriguez, Zaveck is an underwhelming choice of opponent for the Cuban southpaw. The Slovenian's two highest profile bouts were both losses. Andre Berto earned a fifth-round stoppage win over Zaveck in September 2011, and Keith Thurman shut him out on the cards in March 2013.

Although he's coming into this bout at an age when most boxers have long since hung up the gloves, he expects to give Lara at least some trouble in the ring Wednesday.

"I am aware that this will be one of the toughest fights of my career," Zaveck said, via ESPN.com's Dan Rafael. "I respect Lara, and I will prove that I am on the same level. I am aware that I am the underdog and that I am coming into Lara's living room. I am coming to Miami to chase my dreams and surprise everybody."

Assuming Lara handily defeats Zaveck, the choice of opponent will likely leave fans frustrated, especially coming off the easy win over Rodriguez. It appears the man nicknamed The American Dream has resolved to keep on climbing the ladder in search of better opposition. 

Eric Jamison/Associated Press

"We are analyzing the possibility of going to middleweight. We will be watching every fight...Jacobs-Quillin, Lee-Saunders, Cotto-Canelo and Golovkin. The biggest fights at 160 and at 154 pounds, he can win them all," said Lara's manager, Luis DeCubas Jr., to ESPN Deportes, via BoxingScene.com's Miguel Rivera.

While there are talented fighters like the Charlo brothers and Demetrius Andrade chomping at the bit in the junior middleweight ranks, some of boxing's biggest names have clustered at middleweight.

The southpaw Lara would prove an immense challenge for Gennady Golovkin. He could also try to get a rematch with Alvarez, whose status as one of the sport's top stars has only solidified after a big decision win over Miguel Cotto on Saturday.

Lara should have no problem dispatching Zaveck on Wednesday. After that, a big step up in competition should be in the works.