Leo Santa Cruz vs. Abner Mares
Lou Catalano, Senior Writer
Brutal pick. Both were better three years ago, but I think Abner Mares has lost just a little bit more since he got wrecked by Jhonny Gonzalez. Can Leo Santa Cruz use his 12,000 punch-per-round output to overwhelm Mares? Can Mares avoid using Santa Cruz’s testicles as a speed bag?
I honestly am expecting an all out war, and a fight-of-the-year candidate to emerge here. Santa Cruz hasn’t had a decent opponent in front of him in forever, and he really hasn’t looked all that impressive in a couple of years. But my bet is that he brings the A game with Mares in front of him. LSC by unanimous decision in a superb fight.
Prediction: Santa Cruz
Tony Calcara, Staff Writer
I am truly excited for this fight and have high expectations. I am hoping, as all great fights do, those expectations are exceeded Saturday night.
Leo Santa Cruz, 27, is undefeated. Abner Mares, 29, has only one loss, albeit via a stunning knockout. Tactically, Santa Cruz owns the height and reach advantages. Mares, on the other hand, wins the experience battle hands down.
Mares will need to find a way to get inside and in close to bomb away. Santa Cruz will be perfectly happy to stand and trade with him. All signs point to an all action slobber-knocker and I like Mares to pull it off.
Prediction: Mares
Art Hernandez, Photographer
Prediction: Santa Cruz
Brent Herrin, Staff Writer
Rising star Leo Santa Cruz will make his second appearance in the featherweight division when he faces Abner Mares Saturday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
According to CompuBox, Santa Cruz is a statistical phenom that throws an average of 81 punches per round and lands 35 per round. His critics believe that these impressive stats are the result of fighting less than stellar opposition, which makes this fight with Mares his toughest to date.
Mares is on the rebound after suffering a first round beat down at the hands of Jhonny Gonzalez (58-9, 49 KOs) three years ago, and is looking to make his way back to the top of the featherweight division.
Yeah, I’m going to go against the grain on this one. Mares via decision.
Prediction: Mares
Ismael Gallardo, Photographer
Prediction: Santa Cruz
Brandon Glass, Contributing Writer
Abner Mares is 5-1-1, 1 KO, in world title fights and 7-1-1, 2 KO, against former or current world titlists. This is a world title fight against a current world titlist. So odds say he’s got a good chance to win this. Despite that, Mares’ Featherweight experiment hasn’t exactly been the gold standard we’re used to from the three-time champion. With the exception of Jose Ramirez, he didn’t really distance himself from the pack as expected.
With only one fight in the Featherweight division, Leo Santa Cruz is just getting his feet wet. There’s not enough of a sample size to really know how it will work out just yet, but fighting Mares in his second fight at 126 is ballsy considering his reputation with matchmaking. Even with an undefeated record and two world titles, he has yet to put up a career defining performance.
As much as I want Mares to win, I give the edge to Santa Cruz. He’s bigger and rangier. His work in the pocket is impeccable and his volume punching is crazy effective. Even though Santa Cruz is a plodding stalker with no head movement and a somewhat terrible defense (he gets hit flush a lot), his chin has been pretty durable and he’s still fresher than Mares.
Mares will try to use mobility to Santa Cruz, giving him angles to jump in and engage, only to flee when he’s done working. While that game plan might bode well for a decision, it’s not the “statement finish” Mares is looking for or selling the fans. Footwork is kind of a new feature added to Mare repertoire and at his core he’s an aggressive dude. His hubris dictates that he will press the issue at any moment he feels ineffective, which I think serves Leo Santa Cruz better.
Santa Cruz is the bigger puncher of the two –though neither guy is packing the serious “one punch knockout” kind of heat – and once a few of those debilitating left hooks to the body land, I don’t know if Mares can or will even want to keep up the footwork for 12 rounds, forced or not. Mares has taken some big punches off of world class fighters, stayed upright, and most often won; but not so much at Featherweight.
Prediction: Santa Cruz
Alex Burgos, Editor-in-Chief
Up until Monday of this week I was confident in my pick–Leo Santa Cruz. But, having re-watched a few fights–or in Santa Cruz’s case, exhibitions–I’m not as sure that Santa Cruz’s aggression will be enough to deter and defeat Abner Mares.
Mares has come out of this training camp looking like a body builder, and while boxing isn’t about who looks more like Ivan Drago, you can assume the power edge goes to Mares (which could be vital).
To me, Santa Cruz must be able to earn Mares’ respect early on. Without that, his punches in bunches style won’t serve him well because I think Mares will have success walking through him. Also, I find myself wondering how Santa Cruz will deal with Mares’ power. If Mares buzzes’ Santa Cruz, how will “El Terremoto” react?
Santa Cruz has the height advantage, but I don’t see that helping him much because he’s a lot like the late, great Diego Corrales in that he wants to fight in a phone booth.
I really don’t see this matchup falling flat because there is a lot on the line for both men. Santa Cruz can exorcise his cherry-picking demons, while Mares can prove that the Jhonny Gonzalez KO did not ruin him. With one win, each man can shut up the majority of their naysayers. That’s better than any diamond title being offered up.
I expect action and a healthy dose of putasos from both men. I’m betting that Santa Cruz will be able to take Mares’ best stuff and win an exciting fight in PBC‘s best offering to date.
Prediction: Santa Cruz
