Leo Santa Cruz: record, next fight and profile →
NEW YORK – Showtime’s Stephen Espinoza was preparing to announce much of the network’s boxing schedule through June during a unique event Wednesday afternoon at a restaurant in Manhattan.
Abner Mares, the WBA "regular" featherweight champion, revealed his plans for 2018, including the possibility of a rematch against the WBA 'super' champ Leo Santa Cruz, as well as the chance of enrolling in a tournament with the best featherweights of the world and other great rivals.
Three-time world champion Abner Mares appeared on ESPN's A los Golpes in Mexico City and said he expected a rematch against WBA featherweight champion Leo Santa Cruz to take place on a date in the month of April or March. Accompanied by Olympic medalist Misael Rodríguez, Mares explained that in 2018 he would love nothing more than to fight Leo Santa Cruz, Carl Frampton and Oscar Valdez, because he wants to show that among all the talent at 126 pounds, he is the most versatile and complete.
According to promoter Richard Schaefer of Ringstar Sports, he is simply looking for a date at the Staples Center in Los Angeles to finalize the rematch between WBA featherweight world champions Abner Mares and Leo Santa Cruz, which should happen between April or May.
Leo Santa Cruz and Abner Mares engaged in an exciting battle in August, 2015 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Santa Cruz won the fight via majority decision and Mares has campaigned for a rematch ever since. Mares returned to the ring almost 15 months later and captured another world title by defeating Jesus Cuellar via split decision. He then spent the next several months waiting on the rematch with Santa Cruz, who defeated Carl Frampton in January to avenge his only professional defeat.
Fights are being penciled in for the 2018 boxing schedule, and the rematch between WBA featherweight titlist Leo Santa Cruz, and challenger Abner Mares is still looking for a date and venue. The fight has been ordered by the World Boxing Association, because Santa Cruz is the "super" champion for the sanctioning body at 126-pounds, while Mares holds the "regular" title at the same weight. Their bout was regulated to establish a single WBA belthodler at the weight as the sanctioning body looks to reduce their number of titles per division.
The fight Carl Frampton wants the most is a rubber match against Leo Santa Cruz. The former two-division champion split a pair of back-to-back featherweight championship matches with Santa Cruz and Frampton is eager to prove his superiority over his Mexican-American rival. Frank Warren, Frampton’s new promoter, promised, however, that the Belfast native won’t waste time waiting around for Santa Cruz to agree to a third fight against him.
The Championship Committee of the World Boxing Association (WBA) has ordered their featherweight world champions Leo Santa Cruz and Abner Mares, to negotiate a deal as soon a possible, and reach a deal on or before November 6. Santa Cruz holds the WBA's "super" title at the weight, while Mares is the "regular" champion at 126-pounds. The sanctioning body wants to eliminate the problem of having multiple world champions in each division. Both boxers had been scheduled to fight on April 3.
Many more viewers tuned in to watch the “PBC on FOX” tripleheader Saturday night than the last one. According to ratings released Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research, an average audience of 1,483,000 watched a FOX boxing telecast that included victories by featherweight champions Leo Santa Cruz and Abner Mares. Viewership for the previous “PBC on FOX” tripleheader peaked at 1,039,000 viewers and averaged 886,000.
BIGGEST WINNER I - Jermell Charlo: Jermall Charlo is the Charlo brother with the particularly bright future, the one who could crack the pound-for-pound Top 10 and continue to climb. At least that’s the prevailing wisdom. More and more, though, Jermell Charlo is becoming impossible to overlook. Jermell made the biggest statement of his career on the junior middleweight triple-header Saturday in Brooklyn