Abner Mares
Photo by Tom Hogan/Hogan Photos
After being knocked out in highlight-reel fashion by Jhonny Gonzalez in 2013, Abner Mares made a somewhat successful comeback in his last bout against Jonathan Oquendo.
I say somewhat because although he won, he was not the same guy that took on Joseph Agbeko and Daniel Ponce de Leon.
Sure, Mares’ new trainer Virgil Hunter is making him more a box-first guy, but you get the feeling that the minute someone cracks Mares with a good shot, all of the new boxing tools he’s learned will go out the window.
A fight between Mares and Guillermo Rigondeaux could certainly provide some fireworks if Mares enters the fight acknowledging that he can’t outbox the Cuban.
He would have to apply pressure, cut the ring off and have a high work rate.
Having said all that, this fight could also have the potential of being Rigondeaux vs. Nonito Donaire 2.
But at the end of the day, if Rigondeaux decides to move up in weight, this would be a dangerous and exciting entry into the 126-pound division.
