By Dan Ambrose: Leo Santa Cruz (34-1-1, 19 KOs) and Abner Mares (31-2-1, 15 KOs) both emerged victorious on Saturday night in their stay busy/show case fights against over-matched opponents Chris Avalos (27-5, 20 KOs) and Andres Gutierrez (35-2-1, 25 KOs) on Premier Boxing Champions on Fox from the StubHub Center in Carson, California.
Featherweight world champions Leo Santa Cruz and Abner Mares were both victorious in their Premier Boxing Champions on FOX and FOX Deportes fights Saturday night from StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. and officially set up a world championship rematch between the two popular southern California champions in early 2018.
By Dan Ambrose: WBA Super World featherweight champion Leo Santa Cruz (33-1-1, 18 KOs) made weight on Friday in weighing in at 125.4 pounds for his voluntary title defense against #11 WBA fringe contender Chris Avalos (27-5, 20 KOs) for their fight this Saturday night on Fox at the StubHub Center, in Carson, California. Avalos, 27, weighed in at 126 lbs.
By Dan Ambrose: In an attempt to build interest in an eventual rematch between them, WBA Super World featherweight champion Leo Santa Cruz and Abner Mares will be fighting on the same card but in separate fights on October 14 at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.
By Jeff Aranow: WBA featherweight champion Abner Mares says Saul “Canelo” Alvarez has the edge against IBF, IBO, WBA, WBC middleweight champion in their fight on September 16 due to his youth, power and it being in his prime. Mares still sees the Canelo-Golovkin as a tough on to predict because of how good Golovkin is.
By Eric Baldwin: WBC/WBO light welterweight champion Terence Crawford (30-0, 21 KOs) is very amused with some of the things he’s been reading about boxing fans thinking he would duck the fight against Felix Diaz (19-1, 9 KOs). Crawford, 29, isn’t ducking the fight with Diaz. There are some fans that think Crawford is ducking Errol Spence Jr., and afraid to move up to 147 to fight guys his own size. The fans point out that Crawford is as heavy as some of the top welterweights in the division after he rehydrates. But if Crawford can make 140, there’s no real reason for him to move up to 147 yet.
By Dan Ambrose: The WBA has ordered a WBA Super World featherweight champion Leo Santa Cruz (33-1-1, 18 KOs) to face WBA World featherweight champion Abner Mares (30-2-1, 15 KOs). The management for the two fighters has 30 days to try and negotiate the fight before the World Boxing Association orders a purse bid. This move by the WBA is part of their efforts to decrease the amount of titles they have in each weight division.
By Jim Dower: The World Boxing Association are reportedly on the verge of ordering a fight between WBA Super World featherweight champion Leo Santa Cruz (33-1-1, 18 KOs) and WBA World featherweight champion Abner Mares (30-2-1, 15 KOs) in a move to narrow down the WBA’s titles in each weight class.
The WBA currently has two champions at 126 with Santa Cruz holding the WBA Super title and Mares possessing the WBA World [regular] belt. According to Fight News, the WBA could order the Santa Cruz-Mares fight within a week unless Santa Cruz is able to negotiate a third fight with Carl Frampton, who he recently beat by a 12 round majority decision on January 28.
Abner Mares, the new WBA Featherweight World Championship boxer (30-2-1, 15 KOs), and Robert Garcia, Boxing trainer who has coached 10 World Champion boxers, celebrate an electric and impressive upset with Mares’ 12-round split decision over defending champion Jesus Cuellar (28-2, 21 KOs) in Los Angeles this past Saturday. The fight was the main event of a SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING doubleheader.
Post-fight both Mares and Garcia reflect on the past year and what is ahead in 2017.
By Dan Ambrose: In an impressive performance, 31-year-old former three division world champion Abner Mares (29-2-1, 15 KOs) defeated the bigger and stronger WBA World featherweight champion Jesus Cuellar (28-2, 21 KOs) by a 12 round split decision on Saturday night to rip his title away from him in a fight on Showtime Boxing from the USC’s Galen Center in Los Angeles. Mares surprisingly dropped the 30-year-old Cuellar in the 11th round to seal his victory. The final judges’ scored were 116-111, 117-110 for Mares, and 115-112 for Cuellar.
The difference in the fight wasn’t the punching power of either fighter. It was the hand speed and defensive skills of Mares. He was the much faster guy, and the more elusive of the two. The southpaw Cuellar was coming straight ahead all night long looking to take Mares’ head off with each shot he threw.