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by David P. Greisman - We’ve waited longer for fights than we have for the fight between Abner Mares and Leo Santa Cruz. We’ve waited for bigger fights, at that. Yet the news that Mares and Santa Cruz will fight on Aug. 29 is welcome. And that’s even though Mares vs. Santa Cruz wasn’t our first choice.
Mares vs. Nonito Donaire was. The events that made that fight moot in turn led to Mares vs. Santa Cruz.
Three years ago, in 2012, Mares had just wrapped up an impressive run in the bantamweight division, where he’d taken part in a Showtime tournament, fighting to a draw with Yonnhy Perez, edging Vic Darchinyan, taking a controversial decision over Joseph Agbeko and then winning more convincingly in their rematch. He had since moved up to 122 and won a vacant world title against the faded Eric Morel. Later in the year, he would defend it against skilled 118-pounder Anselmo Moreno.
Donaire also had re-entered the headlines at bantamweight in 2011 with his highlight-reel technical knockout of Fernando Montiel. He, too, jumped to junior featherweight in 2012, embarking on a campaign in which he won a vacant belt against Wilfredo Vazquez Jr., unified it against Jeffrey Mathebula, stopped a highly ranked opponent in Toshiaki Nishioka, then wrapped up the year with a drubbing of the faded Jorge Arce.
Those four wins — well, really those first three wins — were enough to merit recognition from the Boxing Writers Association of America as its Fighter of the Year.”
Donaire was an exciting three-division titleholder (his interim belt at 115 not included). Mares was an entertaining fighter who had won belts in two weight classes. They seemed a natural pairing. But a deal could never be consummated, par for the course given the poor relationship at that time between Golden Boy Promotions, which at the time promoted Mares, and Top Rank Inc., which had and still has Donaire in its stable. [Click Here To Read More]
Mares vs. Nonito Donaire was. The events that made that fight moot in turn led to Mares vs. Santa Cruz.
Three years ago, in 2012, Mares had just wrapped up an impressive run in the bantamweight division, where he’d taken part in a Showtime tournament, fighting to a draw with Yonnhy Perez, edging Vic Darchinyan, taking a controversial decision over Joseph Agbeko and then winning more convincingly in their rematch. He had since moved up to 122 and won a vacant world title against the faded Eric Morel. Later in the year, he would defend it against skilled 118-pounder Anselmo Moreno.
Donaire also had re-entered the headlines at bantamweight in 2011 with his highlight-reel technical knockout of Fernando Montiel. He, too, jumped to junior featherweight in 2012, embarking on a campaign in which he won a vacant belt against Wilfredo Vazquez Jr., unified it against Jeffrey Mathebula, stopped a highly ranked opponent in Toshiaki Nishioka, then wrapped up the year with a drubbing of the faded Jorge Arce.
Those four wins — well, really those first three wins — were enough to merit recognition from the Boxing Writers Association of America as its Fighter of the Year.”
Donaire was an exciting three-division titleholder (his interim belt at 115 not included). Mares was an entertaining fighter who had won belts in two weight classes. They seemed a natural pairing. But a deal could never be consummated, par for the course given the poor relationship at that time between Golden Boy Promotions, which at the time promoted Mares, and Top Rank Inc., which had and still has Donaire in its stable. [Click Here To Read More]
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