Abner Mares' Return Eyed For Canelo-Lara Card

By Salvador Rodriguez

According to Golden Boy Promtions head matchmaker Eric Gomez, former three division world champion Abner Mares (26-1-1, 14KOs) is now likely to return as part of the Showtime Pay-Per-View undercard to Saul "Canelo" Alvarez vs. Erislandy Lara, which takes place on July 12th from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Mares has been inactive since suffering a first round TKO defeat at the hands of Jhonny Gonzalez last August. They were set for a rematch in February, but then Mares withdrew with a rib injury. Mares then appeared to be returning on Golden Boy's Showtime date of June 21, which is now being ruled out.

The WBC recently ordered a final eliminator between Mares and Jayson Velez, who Golden Boy co-promotes with Miguel Cotto. A date of May 29 has been set down for the purse bid, but Velez expects Mares to take another direction.

Another fight that might appear on Canelo-Lara, according to promoter Fernando Beltran of Zanfer Promotions, is the mandatory lightweight bout between champion Omar Figueroa and challenger Daniel Estrada.