Mares Vows 'Fight of The Year' Battle With Santa Cruz

By Jake Donovan

At the very moment he outpointed Joseph Agbeko in their first fight in Aug. ’11, Abner Mares became the first-ever home-grown fighter for Golden Boy Promotions to capture a major title. He remains the only fighter from the 2004 Mexico Olympic boxing team—which also includes super welterweight slugger Alfredo Angulo—to have done so, never mind in three weight classes.

Mares has never taken issue with heavy lifting. Yet, there remains concern about he performs in a must-win situation ahead of his anticipated August 29 showdown with undefeated Leo Santa Cruz.

The bout headlines at Staples Center in Los Angeles, with Santa Cruz fighting as a full-fledged featherweight for the first time in his career. Mares has been at the weight since 2013, dating back to his knockout win over Daniel Ponce de Leon to capture his third title in as many weight divisions.

However, it was the follow-up performance—and his lone loss to date—that has boxing experts still expressing concern about his ability to perform at the top level. A stunning 1st round knockout at the hands of Jhonny Gonzalez in Aug. ’13 registered as the Upset of the Year, and perhaps the turning point in Mares’ once brilliant career.

Three wins have followed, but none suggesting even a hint of the Mares of old. In that regard, many argue that the matchup with Santa Cruz—a fight nearly three years in the making—comes at the right time for the undefeated former two-division champ, who is also the younger and fresher fighter.

Mares insists that the fight is coming at the perfect time for both fighters, and that it just wasn’t meant to happen in, say 2013 when both were being steered towards such an event.

“No. It could have but you know things happen for a reason and fights get made at weird times for business issues, but I think it's the perfect time for both,” Mares (29-1-1, 15KOs) says of the upcoming featherweight clash, which airs live in primetime on ESPN as part of the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) series. “Leo has more experience, he's been fighting great, and myself, after my defeat, I've fought three times and my mind set is there. So I think it's a perfect time for both.”

Even at its suggested peak, Mares and Santa Cruz (30-0-1, 19KOs) were still at least one more fight away from a collision course when appearing on the same Aug. ’13 card at StubHub Center in Carson, California. Mares and Gonzalez played the main event, while Santa Cruz annihilated Victor Terrazas in three rounds to claim a 122 lb. title.

The night marked the third time in the span of nine months that the two appeared on the same show. The first such occasion came in Nov. ’12, a night Mares regards as the biggest of his career to date. It was on that night, in the very same Staples Center that hosts the Aug. 29th show, when he claimed the scalp of Anselmo Moreno, at the time a supremely gifted and long-reigning bantamweight titlist moving up in effort to claim a super bantamweight crown.

Santa Cruz also turned heads in his own Showtime-televised chief support, scoring a one-sided 9th round knockout of Victor Zaleta to officially begin the friendly rivalry between unbeaten top fighters from Mexico.

In the main event, Mares managed a win that was closer than the scores suggested, but still over his biggest name at that time. It was enough to generate whispers of where he belonged among the sport’s very best. He was 18 days shy of his 27th birthday, undefeated and at the top of his career.

Adding to his credentials was the win over Ponce de Leon, which graced the undercard of Floyd Mayweather’s debut on Showtime Pay-Per-View, outpointing Robert Guerrero over 12 rounds at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Also on the show, Santa Cruz easily disposed of used-up former titlist Alexander Muñoz in five rounds. The bout was his first as a super bantamweight, though on a night when Mares decided to conquer the featherweight division.

If the chase was to continue, Santa Cruz would have to make his present felt in the 122 lb. division in a hurry before moving up to face Mares, who would have likely been the betting favorite had he maintained his winning ways.

“No doubt. I was at the peak, I was at a great time in my career where I was a three-time world champion, undefeated and I looked great,” Mares acknowledges of what could have been two years ago. “No doubt in my mind even now, after my defeat, I've become even a better fighter, because now I know what defeat is, now I know how to come back up and start all over.

“So it's going to be the best Abner Mares. I think it's the perfect time for me to focus on myself, I don't care about him, for myself it's the perfect time, and I can't wait.”

Unlike when the idea of the fight was first floated, there is little more than bragging rights at stake for the August 29 headliner. Santa Cruz comes in on the heels of a disappointing super bantamweight title reign, as his career was slowed to a crawl while adviser Al Haymon sought the best laid plans for his champion as well a stable that now boasts upwards of 200 fighters.

With his career path still being mapped out, Santa Cruz was forced to settle for no-hopers in water-treading matches. If anything, it provides the type of handicap needed to bring this fight more to a level of a perceived pick-‘em. Mares has struggled to recapture old glory in any of his past three wins since tasting defeat, but believes he has all of the motivation he needs to turn back the clock.

“I do feel very motivated,” Mares insists. “I'm extremely focused. I can't recollect the time where I felt like this. It would have to date back to when I was going after my first world title.”

What he could be looking at instead, is his last chance to prove he belongs among the sport’s elite. Mares gets why Santa Cruz is viewed as the betting favorite, but in his eyes, the matchup itself means all bets are off.

“I think August 29th, we are going to make it a Fight of the Year,” Mares believes. “I have no question in my mind that that will be it. I know I suffered one defeat to a great fighter. Leo Santa Cruz is undefeated, he has not lost, he has not tasted defeat and he's fighting a hungrier Abner Mares.”

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com.
Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
Facebook Page: JakeBScene