Mares: No Surprise if Gonzalez Goes For Early KO

By Ryan Burton

WBC featherweight king Abner Mares is just a week away from his upcoming title defense against former champion Jhonny Gonzalez. The fight will be Mares' first since his May 4th knockout victory over Daniel Ponce de Leon that gave him the WBC strap. The action takes place at the Stub Hub Center in Carson, Calif. and will be televised on Showtime Championship Boxing. 

Mares appeared on the latest edition of BoxingScene Radio to talk about the fight and said that they are done with the hardest parts of camp and are ready for fight night.

"We are done with training. Friday we will have our last sparring session. We had our tough sessions. We're done and we are ready," said Mares.

The Gonzalez fight is seen by some as a step down for Mares after his impressive TKO victory over Daniel Ponce de Leon. In his prior fight, Ponce de Leon had picked up the belt by defeating Gonzalez via technical decision. Mares is expecting a tough fight and doesn't believe in the "triangle" theories that some fans believe in when it comes to predicting the outcome of fights.

"Jhonny has been on the radar. He stopped the fight when he fought Ponce De Leon but styles make fights. I beat Ponce but that doesn't mean I am going to destroy this guy. I hope I can (laughing) but we will see," Mares explained.

The three-division champion sees a unique challenge in Gonzalez. He pointed out Gonzalez' advantage in size and said that he looked for bigger sparring partners to help with his preparation. 

"Jhonny is a guy who is taller than me.  He's maybe 5'8" or 5'9". That's a big guy. He probably walks around at 135 or 140. I try to find a guy who has his type of style and size," Mares told us on BoxingScene Radio.

While Mares is still young and should have a long career ahead of him, he knows that this could be Gonzalez's last big fight and payday if he loses.  For that reason he wouldn't be surprised if Gonzalez decides to come out aggressively from the opening bell.

"I have to expect the unexpected with this guy. He knows that this could be his last big fight. He is training hard and he may come out balls out and try to knock me out early," Mares stated.

To listen to the interview in it's entirety click here: http://tobtr.com/s/5131423

Send questions or comments to ringsidewriter@gmail.com.  Follow Ryan on Twitter @ringsidewriter and tune in to BoxingScene Radio, BoxingScene's official audio show on Tuesdays from 6-8PM PST. The show is hosted by Ernie Gabion, Luis Sandoval and Ryan Burton.