By Thomas Gerbasi

Leo Santa Cruz always seemed to be more mature than most young fighters his age, so at 27, it’s no surprise that he hasn’t let the talk of the fans and media about the level of competition he’s faced over the last couple years get to him. He’s here to fight. Let his team handle all the other business.

“We’re here because of the fans, so we can’t fight with them,” he said. “We just have to be patient and smart and keep taking it fight by fight. Sooner or later, the fight is going to happen, and at the end of the day the fans are going to be happy. There’s always criticism in everything, so you have to stay calm and relaxed and try to maintain that calm.”

The fight is happening. Most would say “finally,” but only because any boxing fan worth his salt has wanted to see Santa Cruz and Abner Mares in the ring. This Saturday at Staples Center, they will meet with gloves on and mouthpieces in, and that’s really all that matters right now. This isn’t a Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao situation where the fight happened after its sell-by date. The 27-year-old Santa Cruz and the 29-year-old Mares are in their prime, and given that, this might not be the last time we see them together.

“Neither of us is going to want to lose, and if he loses, he’s gonna want a rematch, and if I lose, I’m gonna want a rematch too,” Santa Cruz said. “So I see it very possible that there will maybe be a rematch or a trilogy. It all depends on how it goes, but I’m going to try to win this fight convincingly so there won’t be a rematch.”

Mares is the favorite going in, but Santa Cruz is no decided underdog, and his volume punching attack can spell a rough night for anyone. He’s old school in his fighting philosophy, deciding that to win fights, you have to fight. That means punches in bunches and, dare we mention the term, combinations. It’s what endeared the Huetamo native to the masses in his days as bantamweight champion, but in the latter part of his reign in the junior featherweight class, fans started wondering if his team was more concerned with keeping the 30-0-1 Santa Cruz unbeaten than with putting him in with the best of the best on a regular basis. Now at 126 pounds, Santa Cruz has his opportunity to put the critics to rest once and for all, but that’s not really his concern at this point. He’s just happy to be fighting someone he always expected would be a ring rival.

“I knew that it was gonna happen sooner or later,” Santa Cruz said. “At the beginning, he (Mares) didn’t want the fight; he said that I wasn’t on his level and he didn’t want to take a step back. But I said I’m gonna work hard, I’m gonna get myself up there, and sooner or later we’re gonna have to fight each other, no matter what.”

There are probably a few dozen insults worse than saying someone isn’t on your level, but that one still has to sting, especially when it wasn’t his fault that they didn’t get together back in 2013, after they both fought on the same card in August of that year. That night, Santa Cruz knocked out Victor Terrazas in three rounds, but Mares got stopped in one by Jhonny Gonzalez. Now there would be an even longer wait, two years’ worth.

Since the lone loss of his career, Mares has won three straight, but has looked to be either tentative or bored against Jonathan Oquendo, Jose Ramirez and Arturo Reyes. This hasn’t escaped the notice of Santa Cruz, who has seen the difference in Mares, but expects him to return to form this weekend.

“The last three fights he’s fought, he hasn’t looked the same,” he said. “He looks like he’s not there, that he’s more cautious, like he didn’t want to get caught with the same punch (as the one he took from Gonzalez). But with my fight, he’s gonna come one hundred percent ready. I think he’s going to be the same Mares as before because he knows this is a very important fight, and if he loses this fight, it could maybe be over for him. I know this is the biggest fight of our life, and losing in this fight is not good.”

At this level, losing any fight isn’t good, but it’s part of the game. If Mares falls short, his career won’t be over, and the same goes for Santa Cruz. But after all these years and with everything on the line, including Los Angeles bragging rights, they will probably fight like it’s do or die for their careers. And if anything, that pressure has kept Santa Cruz, who has been boxing for much of his life, fired up to hit the gym every day.

“It does feel different because I’m a main event and I’m fighting a three-time world champion,” he said. “He only has one defeat and that was because he got caught with a good punch. But he’s a great fighter, he’s the hardest fighter I’m gonna face right now, so I have to be mentally and physically ready for this fight, and I am. I know I have to go out there and put on a great show because I’m the main event and other people are coming for me and Abner Mares. They’re expecting a great fight and a war up there, and that’s what we’re gonna do, so I’m training really hard and working the hardest I’ve ever trained. This is the first time I’m a main event, so I have to take advantage of it. I want to give the fans a great show and I want them to go home happy and say that it was worth it.”

Here’s hoping it will be for the fans that have waited for it. As for Santa Cruz, his key to victory is a simple one.

“I always train like I still have nothing, like I still have many dreams to accomplish,” he said. “That’s how I stay hungry.”

The fight will be carried by Premier Boxing Champions on ESPN.