Mares Ready For Morel, Hopes To Land Donaire, Nishioka

By Luis Sandoval

Abner Mares will not only be fighting for his second world title when he faces Eric Morel later tonight in El Paso, TX live on Showtime, he’s also venturing into a new weight class. Mares will be entering the Super Bantamweight division and should he be victorious over Morel, it will set up for some big fights at 122 pounds.

While Mares isn’t overlooking his current assignment, he understands there are lucrative fights on the horizon for him. Two fights that are possible are against Filipino sensation Nonito Donaire and Japanese southpaw Toshiaki Nishioka who is taking a hiatus and vacated the belt Mares and Morel will be fighting for on Saturday night. BoxingScene.com spoke with Mares and he informed that he would welcome both challenges.

“No doubt. I mean it’s hard not to think about those fights. It’s not that I’m looking past Eric Morel but like I said its real hard not to think about those fights because those fights are there. Those are good fights that I would love to get. Those are the fights that not just myself, I think the fans want to see.” said Mares.

Last year it seemed that Mares and Donaire were on a collision course to meet in a Bantamweight super fight. Those plans evaporated when Mares was involved in a controversial fight with Joseph Agbeko in the final stage of Showtime’s Bantamweight Tourney. Mares hit Agbeko with what many felt were numerous low blows but referee Russell Mora never penalized Mares or warned him. The IBF then mandated an immediate rematch between both fighters and Nonito had no choice but to move on and eventually leave the 118 pound division altogether.

Now with Mares’ move up in weight, the fight once again becomes a possibility and he would be more than willing to make the fight happen.

“I want to fight Nonito Donaire, no doubt. He is the top pound for pound right now, the big man on the list and hopefully we can make those fights happen. God willing I take care of this fight and not just that, I’ll be world champion already so it’ll make it more interesting” said Mares.

First Mares will need to take care of business later tonight against Eric Morel; a fight he assures he isn’t taking lightly.

You can follow Luis  Sandoval on Twitter @truewest007. You can also tune in to Boxingscene’s official audio show The Boxing Lab every Tuesday from 6-8PM PST with hosts Ernest Gabion, Luis Sandoval, and Ryan Burton.