Cuellar: I Will Knock Abner Mares Out, Have Him Near Retirement

By Elisinio Castillo

WBA 'regular' featherweight world champion Jesus Cuellar believes that he will send Mexican Olympian Abner Mares to the brink of retirement next month.

Cuellar (28-1, 21KOs) will defend against Mares (29-2-1, 15KOs) on December 10th at the USC Galen Center in Los Angeles. The fight will be televised by Showtime in the United States and Televisa Deportes in Mexico.

The Argentine puncher is not worried about his former trainer, Robert Garcia, preparing Mares for this contest. He says Garcia will not play a role in the outcome.

Mares is looking to find a rebound for his career. He's been out of the ring since August 2015, when he lost a tough twelve round decision to Leo Santa Cruz.

Cuellar has been out since last December, when he retained his world title with a twelve round decision win over Jonathan Oquendo.

They were scheduled to face each other earlier this year in New York City, but the fight was canceled after there were concerns over Mares' medical history with respect to his vision. Those issues have been squared away.

"Mares wants to present the appearance of having a lot of confidence, but he is actually afraid. When we went face to face at the press conference to announce the fight, I shook his hand and pressed with all my strength and he did not respond in the same way - instead he lowered his head, so I've won the first round," Cuellar said.

"I'm going to knock him out, which is something that I don't often say, but I have a lot of confidence in my superiority ... I'm a much better fighter than Mares and I will prove it by putting him on the brink of retirement."

The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING doubleheader begins with super welterweight world champion Jermall Charlo defending his title against top contender Julian "J-Rock" Williams in a matchup of undefeated rising stars in their prime. Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by Ringstar Sports and TGB Promotions are priced at $35, $50, $75, $150 and $200. To purchase tickets go to www.galentix.com.