A deal is very close for Cristian Mijares to face current WBC super bantamweight champion Leo Santa Cruz (26-0-1, 15KOs) on March 8th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. The fight would be part of the Saul "Canelo" Alvarez vs. Alfredo Angulo Showtime Pay-Per-View.
Mijares (49-7-2, 24), a two division champion, is the mandatory challenger to the title. After what some felt was a controversial decision loss to Victor Terrazas in April 2013, the WBC ordered a rematch. It never happened after Santa Cruz easily stopped Terrazas to the title. Mijares stayed busy with a knockout win in July and another in December.
Mijares is brimming with confidence. In his own words - "Leo hasn’t faced a rival like me yet. Leo will suffer in the ring, I know how to do it and... he'll struggle. I have the experience to do that, and I will become world champion. Leo is a great champion, he’s very talented but he hasn’t faced an opponent like me, so I’m rather confident I will defeat him."