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By Lyle Fitzsimmons - It wasn’t supposed to be time for Abner Mares’ all-or-nothing fight.
Only two years ago this week, he was prepping for the first defense of his third weight-class championship and had significant quarry lined up in his scope at 126 pounds and beyond.
Then came Jhonny Gonzalez. And things have never quite been the same.
Two minutes and 55 seconds with an eight-loss foe not only knocked a then-unbeaten 27-year-old off his WBC world featherweight throne, but it sent him careening from a perch in the low numbers of respected pound-for-pound lists to a far less-heralded slot in the somnambulant triple digits.
Boxrec.com has him at No. 110 in its fight-week P4P, one spot ahead of Ruslan Chagaev.
And while Mares, who’ll turn 30 in November, doesn’t necessarily agree with how he’s perceived these days, he does concede that the Gonzalez fight halted momentum that he’s still yet to regain.
“In my mind, after the loss, I left the top level of the game,” he said. “I had to overcome some issues mentally, but now I’m back better than I ever have been. I’m going to go in there (Saturday) ready to prove that. I’m going to make a statement that Abner Mares is back.”
The weekend appointment he refers to is a scheduled 12-rounder with Leo Santa Cruz, a 27-year-old whose career arc these days is strikingly similar to one Mares had previously been traveling.
The Mexican-born California resident was a world champion at 118 pounds at age 23, ascended to the next ladder rung just days after turning 25, and now views Mares as the first necessary domino to topple on the way to adding a third notch of his own in the featherweight division. [Click Here To Read More]
Only two years ago this week, he was prepping for the first defense of his third weight-class championship and had significant quarry lined up in his scope at 126 pounds and beyond.
Then came Jhonny Gonzalez. And things have never quite been the same.
Two minutes and 55 seconds with an eight-loss foe not only knocked a then-unbeaten 27-year-old off his WBC world featherweight throne, but it sent him careening from a perch in the low numbers of respected pound-for-pound lists to a far less-heralded slot in the somnambulant triple digits.
Boxrec.com has him at No. 110 in its fight-week P4P, one spot ahead of Ruslan Chagaev.
And while Mares, who’ll turn 30 in November, doesn’t necessarily agree with how he’s perceived these days, he does concede that the Gonzalez fight halted momentum that he’s still yet to regain.
“In my mind, after the loss, I left the top level of the game,” he said. “I had to overcome some issues mentally, but now I’m back better than I ever have been. I’m going to go in there (Saturday) ready to prove that. I’m going to make a statement that Abner Mares is back.”
The weekend appointment he refers to is a scheduled 12-rounder with Leo Santa Cruz, a 27-year-old whose career arc these days is strikingly similar to one Mares had previously been traveling.
The Mexican-born California resident was a world champion at 118 pounds at age 23, ascended to the next ladder rung just days after turning 25, and now views Mares as the first necessary domino to topple on the way to adding a third notch of his own in the featherweight division. [Click Here To Read More]
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