By Salvador Rodriguez
Former three division world champion Abner Mares is staying firm with his position that his managerial contract with Frank Espinoza has expired. Mares is scheduled to return on July 12th, as part of the Saul Alvarez-Erislandy Lara Showtime Pay-Per-View from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The opponent will be Puerto Rico's Jonathan Oquendo.
There are rumors that Mares is planning to sign with manager Al Haymon, but the Mexican Olympian denies that he signed any documentation with any manager at the moment.
"What happened is that the contract expired and Frank is looking for ways to extend the contract, but I feel that's not going to happen because I fulfilled the five years that we had signed. I have nothing bad to say about him, we did great things together, but the contract ended," Mares said.
Espinoza believes there is time remaining on the contract, because Mares has been inactive since last August's knockout loss to Jhonny Gonzalez.
"I have no problem with Abner. He's a big boy, my first three-time champion as a manager. I'm happy with what we did. I just hope to assert my rights, there was a lot of time [that he spent] outside [of the ring]. I think I'm right, but we'll see," Espinoza said.
