By Edward Chaykovsky
Former three-division world champion Abner Mares (29-2-1, 15 KOs) is gearing up for his scheduled showdown with hard-hitting WBA featherweight world champion Jesus Cuellar (28-1, 21 KOs).
Cuellar vs. Mares will headline a Premier Boxing Champions event on Saturday, December 10, as part of a Showtime televised doubleheader from USC's Galen Center in Los Angeles.
Mares has been out of the ring since a twelve round majority decision loss to Leo Santa Cruz last August.
Mares plans to be smart in the contest with Cuellar, but he's ready to throw down if needed. Cuellar looked a lot bigger than him when the two boxers went face to face at last week's press conference.
Mares is now training with Robert Garcia, who used to train Cuellar.
"This is going to be a smarter Abner Mares. I've been learning a lot with Robert Garcia. They gave us a year to train and learn together. He's a knowledgeable coach. He's not just a guy who works mitts. This is the real deal. He gets you better and I'm really happy with him," Mares said.
"If I have to make it into a brawl, I will do that. I have the boxing abilities to be the smarter fighter and win by out boxing him. I learn from all of my fights, especially the losses. From the Santa Cruz fight I learned that I really need to listen to my corner. I let the crowd get to me and fought the wrong fight. I'm going to be ready for everything."
Should he get past Cuellar, Mares is full steam ahead to another major fight. He wants the winner of January rematch between Carl Frampton and Santa Cruz.
"I want the winner of the Frampton vs. Santa Cruz rematch. I want to continue to fight the best. I want to be known as a guy who fights the best," Mares said.
