Mexican youngster Abner Mares (26-1-1, 14) started Saturday as a genuine contender for the pound for pound lists, he was expected by many, including myself, to continue his rise to super stardom he took on the hard hitting Jhonny Gonzalez (55-8, 47) in a defense of the WBC Featherweight title. Unfortunately not everything goes the way people expect, especially not when you face a dynamite puncher like Gonzalez.
The bout started tentatively with both men looking to use their jab and box the other. Neither man could really muster much success in the first 2 minutes of action though Gonzalez finally manged to connect in the final minute or so of the round sending Mares down hard with a hard single left.
Mares, showing the champions heart managed to recover to his feet his feet but was still feeling the ill effects of the shots when he was allowed to continue by the referee. Gonzalez sensed the fact Mares hadn't had time to recover his feet and jumped on him with a with a powerful combination of shots that dropped Mares for a second time. This time the referee didn't allow the bout to continue and instead, rightfully, protected Mares from himself.
After the fight Mares congratulated Gonzalez, who he described as a friend and said that he'll be back again. Gonzalez, seemed vindicated by the result and will be looking for a long and fruitful reign this time, his third as champion
Showing posts with label Abner Mares. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Abner Mares. Show all posts
Saturday, 24 August 2013
Saturday, 4 May 2013
Daniel Ponce De Leon v Abner Mares
Mexican-American Abner Mares (26-0-1, 14) successfully became a 3-weight world champion as he stopped Daniel Ponce De Leon (44-5, 34) for the WBC Featherweight title, in what could well be the best victory of Mares' career so far, and that's actually saying a lot.
Despite having only moved to Super Bantamweight 13 months ago Mares was now starting his campaign at Featherweight and the impressive Mexican seemed to have filled out to 126lbs excellently as he looked the same size as the genuinely big, and strong Ponce De Leon.
With both men looking equal in size the difference it was never going to be a case of who was the bigger man in the ring but who could determine the style of fight. Could Ponce De Leon hurt Mares with his explosive left hand? Could Mares force his fight on to Ponce De Leon?
In the first round the answer to who could dictate the style of the fight became obvious as Mares came forward and forced Ponce De Leon on to the back foot. Although the action wasn't anything notable it was worrying for Ponce De Leon that he was effectively being forced backwards by the smaller man. Things got more worrying just a round later as Mares dropped the champion thanks to his sharp and fast shots that appeared to have more sting on them than they had had at either 118lbs or 122lbs.
Mares continued to force Ponce De Leon on to the back foot though started to mix up what he was doing. For large portions of the following rounds he was fighting as a pure boxer using his jab and movement to keep a controlled distance at other points he was brawling with the champion and landing 3 or 4 punch combinations in little bursts before Ponce De Leon could land much of note. It was this switching between styles and Mares' speed with both hands and feet that really helped to confuse De Leon who landed several left hands but did very little to discourage Mares.
Ponce De Leon, who was, in his defense, forcing the action in several rounds, looked very one dimensional and it didn't take long for Mares to see everything that was coming his way as he became incredibly comfortable in the ring. In fact there was only really one blow that Ponce De Leon landed that really got Mares' attention and that was a major low blow in round 7 that would have seen many fans saying "karma" for the numerous low blows that Mares himself has landed. Aside from that one shot however Mares looked like he could do whatever he want with out taking anything of note.
Having completely dominated the bout with his hand speed it seemed that the challenger could have cruised to a decision victory. Instead however, Mares dropped Ponce De Leon in round 9 before moving in for the finish and forcing the referee to step in and wave the bout off with Ponce De Leon taking major shots with little being fired back.
With the WBC Featherweight title now around his waist Mares has got plenty of options to call out, though he may struggle to get the biggest match ups as the current champions are unlikely to be facing him. The likes of Mikey Garcia, Evgeny Gradovich and Orlando Salido are all Top Rank fighters with the other name of note in the division, Chris John being very comfortable with fighting in the East. It may well be that Mares will have to face someone like the unheralded Robinson Castellanos or a fighter who he could persuade up from 122.
For Ponce De Leon this loss may well spell the end of his hopes at the title level, though the hard hitting Mexican will always be a fighter that fans will want to see in the ring.
Despite having only moved to Super Bantamweight 13 months ago Mares was now starting his campaign at Featherweight and the impressive Mexican seemed to have filled out to 126lbs excellently as he looked the same size as the genuinely big, and strong Ponce De Leon.
With both men looking equal in size the difference it was never going to be a case of who was the bigger man in the ring but who could determine the style of fight. Could Ponce De Leon hurt Mares with his explosive left hand? Could Mares force his fight on to Ponce De Leon?
In the first round the answer to who could dictate the style of the fight became obvious as Mares came forward and forced Ponce De Leon on to the back foot. Although the action wasn't anything notable it was worrying for Ponce De Leon that he was effectively being forced backwards by the smaller man. Things got more worrying just a round later as Mares dropped the champion thanks to his sharp and fast shots that appeared to have more sting on them than they had had at either 118lbs or 122lbs.
Mares continued to force Ponce De Leon on to the back foot though started to mix up what he was doing. For large portions of the following rounds he was fighting as a pure boxer using his jab and movement to keep a controlled distance at other points he was brawling with the champion and landing 3 or 4 punch combinations in little bursts before Ponce De Leon could land much of note. It was this switching between styles and Mares' speed with both hands and feet that really helped to confuse De Leon who landed several left hands but did very little to discourage Mares.
Ponce De Leon, who was, in his defense, forcing the action in several rounds, looked very one dimensional and it didn't take long for Mares to see everything that was coming his way as he became incredibly comfortable in the ring. In fact there was only really one blow that Ponce De Leon landed that really got Mares' attention and that was a major low blow in round 7 that would have seen many fans saying "karma" for the numerous low blows that Mares himself has landed. Aside from that one shot however Mares looked like he could do whatever he want with out taking anything of note.
Having completely dominated the bout with his hand speed it seemed that the challenger could have cruised to a decision victory. Instead however, Mares dropped Ponce De Leon in round 9 before moving in for the finish and forcing the referee to step in and wave the bout off with Ponce De Leon taking major shots with little being fired back.
With the WBC Featherweight title now around his waist Mares has got plenty of options to call out, though he may struggle to get the biggest match ups as the current champions are unlikely to be facing him. The likes of Mikey Garcia, Evgeny Gradovich and Orlando Salido are all Top Rank fighters with the other name of note in the division, Chris John being very comfortable with fighting in the East. It may well be that Mares will have to face someone like the unheralded Robinson Castellanos or a fighter who he could persuade up from 122.
For Ponce De Leon this loss may well spell the end of his hopes at the title level, though the hard hitting Mexican will always be a fighter that fans will want to see in the ring.
Saturday, 10 November 2012
Abner Mares v Anselmo Moreno
Mexican Abner Mares (25-0-1, 13) successfully retained his WBC Super Bantamweight title via a very controversial decision over Panamanian Anselmo Moreno (33-2-1, 12) with more than a little bit of help from referee Raul Caiz Jr who simply failed to be impartial. In fact it's fair to say that Caiz's job was almost as bad as that of Russell Mora who famously allowed Mares to get away with similar tactics against Joseph Agbeko.
The bout started very slowly with neither man taking control of the action in the opening few rounds. In fact the early rounds were highlighted by the fact that the fight failed to get going as the styles seemed to clash as opposed to gel. Sadly the issues with styles made the first few rounds very difficult to score as neither man really had any notable success.
In round 4 we sadly saw the start of the bouts controversy as Mares landed a very shot and instead of really telling Mares off, the referee decided that Moreno was to blame for the shot. Sadly Mares would land numerous low blows, at least double figures. Sadly it wasn't just the low blows that marred the bout but an awful knockdown call in favour of Mares in round 5, securing Mares a 10-8.
Following the knockdown Mares really started to step up the pressure and unleashing combinations to the body. Although Moreno slipped many of the shots going his way a fair few were landing, in fact Mares was getting more and more success as the bout went on. In round 7 however Caiz verbally warned Mares in fact stating "next time I'm taking a point" after another clear low blow. Sadly all subsequent low blows were ignored by Caiz despite Mares continuing to land them to the final bell on a semi-regular basis. Surprisingly however Caiz was more than happy to deduct a point from Moreno, with out a clear warning for holding the head down in round 10, further throwing coals on to the fire of Caiz being biased.
Mares continued to press the action late in the bout and although all the rounds were close it seemed that Mares had done enough to claim the bout, helped in part to the "knockdown" and deduction against Moreno. It had been close but those points had made things all but certain for Mares.
The scores were read out and unsurprisingly Mares was a winner by unanimous decision with 2 of the cards having the bout close but fair (116-110, 8 rounds to 4) however the final card was simply a joke that matched Caiz's refereeing giving Mares the bout 120-106.
Whilst it's easy to like Mares' style which is all action, it's impossible to like the number of breaks he gets. The fights with Vic Darchinyan, Joseph Agbeko (first fight) and now this one all raise eye brows as to the way they were officiated and scored and Mares may well be getting himself a reputation as one of Golden Boy's "protected" fighters in terms of officiating (though clearly not match making). If Mares gets to face Nonito Donaire, the fighter he called out after the bout, you can bet your bottom dollar that Bob Arum will want to be the promoter.
For Moreno it's likely he'll drop back to Bantamweight where he currently holds the WBA "super" title.
The bout started very slowly with neither man taking control of the action in the opening few rounds. In fact the early rounds were highlighted by the fact that the fight failed to get going as the styles seemed to clash as opposed to gel. Sadly the issues with styles made the first few rounds very difficult to score as neither man really had any notable success.
In round 4 we sadly saw the start of the bouts controversy as Mares landed a very shot and instead of really telling Mares off, the referee decided that Moreno was to blame for the shot. Sadly Mares would land numerous low blows, at least double figures. Sadly it wasn't just the low blows that marred the bout but an awful knockdown call in favour of Mares in round 5, securing Mares a 10-8.
Following the knockdown Mares really started to step up the pressure and unleashing combinations to the body. Although Moreno slipped many of the shots going his way a fair few were landing, in fact Mares was getting more and more success as the bout went on. In round 7 however Caiz verbally warned Mares in fact stating "next time I'm taking a point" after another clear low blow. Sadly all subsequent low blows were ignored by Caiz despite Mares continuing to land them to the final bell on a semi-regular basis. Surprisingly however Caiz was more than happy to deduct a point from Moreno, with out a clear warning for holding the head down in round 10, further throwing coals on to the fire of Caiz being biased.
Mares continued to press the action late in the bout and although all the rounds were close it seemed that Mares had done enough to claim the bout, helped in part to the "knockdown" and deduction against Moreno. It had been close but those points had made things all but certain for Mares.
The scores were read out and unsurprisingly Mares was a winner by unanimous decision with 2 of the cards having the bout close but fair (116-110, 8 rounds to 4) however the final card was simply a joke that matched Caiz's refereeing giving Mares the bout 120-106.
Whilst it's easy to like Mares' style which is all action, it's impossible to like the number of breaks he gets. The fights with Vic Darchinyan, Joseph Agbeko (first fight) and now this one all raise eye brows as to the way they were officiated and scored and Mares may well be getting himself a reputation as one of Golden Boy's "protected" fighters in terms of officiating (though clearly not match making). If Mares gets to face Nonito Donaire, the fighter he called out after the bout, you can bet your bottom dollar that Bob Arum will want to be the promoter.
For Moreno it's likely he'll drop back to Bantamweight where he currently holds the WBA "super" title.
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