Nonstop action. A toe-to-toe deathmatch. Two relentless brawlers spilling each other’s blood inside of the ring. These were some of the selling points promised to us ahead of Saturday night’s Premier Boxing Champions showdown between Abner Mares and Leo Santa Cruz, a couple of the sport’s most highly touted up-and-coming offensive fighters. And boy, did we get our money’s worth.
In the end, it was Santa Cruz (31-0-1, 17 KOs) who emerged victorious over Mares (29-2-1, 15 KOs) in the featherweight title fight by majority decision to remain undefeated. But triumph did not come easy by any means.
The first three rounds were characterized by merciless exchanges between the two fighters: the straights and counters of Santa Cruz vs. the combination flurries of Mares. It was like something straight out of a scene from Diego Corrales vs. Jose Luis Castillo. With Mares setting the pace, both men put on a ferocious display, soundly rejecting the classic conservative notion of getting a feel for your opponent in the first few rounds in favor of diving headfirst into trench warfare. It was an absolute back-and-forth slugfest that moved a crowd of 13,109 at the Staples Center to its feet, holding their breaths wondering how much longer these fighters could keep up this pace.
It was Mares who appeared to tire first, as Santa Cruz began to work on a cut that had opened up on Mares’ right eye from an accidental headbutt in the third round. By the middle rounds, the vicious exchanges had subsided a bit and Santa Cruz’s reach advantage and precision took over, preventing Mares from working inside and from getting Santa Cruz on the ropes like he had successfully done to begin the fight.
But despite his face being beaten to a bloody pulp, Mares kept coming. He got his second wind towards the seventh or eighth round and managed to steal a couple of the later ones on the judges’ scorecards. However, by the championship rounds, Santa Cruz had landed some clean shots that snapped Mares’ head back, enough to make him appear disoriented and grasping for balance. And as Mares vainly sought a knockout in the twelfth, attempting to recapture some of the lightning in a bottle he had found early on, Santa Cruz managed to keep him at bay and connected with some well-timed counters to seal the victory.
The 27-year-old Santa Cruz took the bout on two judges’ scorecards by the final of 117-111, with a third judge scoring the fight a 114-114 draw. The official Compubox numbers had Santa Cruz landing 373 of 1057 punches (35%) while Mares managed to find the mark on 227 of 980 (23%).
“I was surprised Abner came out so strong,” said Santa Cruz after the fight. “He came right at me but we figured him out and got the win. I stayed outside with the jab. We were able to take control.”
“It was a close fight, but I thought I won,” said Mares of his effort. “My plan was to box him, but I started out really fast. I felt good but my corner told me to box more, so I did that. It was a good fight.”
And indeed it was with the raucous Staples Center crowd (mostly pro-Santa Cruz but with the occasional pro-Mares chant) on their feet going wild for the majority of the fight. Even former Laker and current Clipper Wesley Johnson, sitting ringside, was moved to his feet by the endless action. And it may have been even better for a home viewing audience who got treated to a made-for-pay-per-view classic for free on ESPN.
Now the only question left unanswered after Saturday night’s entertaining, action-packed battle is one that both fighters appeared keen on finding the answer to very soon. When’s the rematch?
Image Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
