Leo Santa Cruz and Abner Mares co-headlines double header on Oct. 14 ahead of hopeful rematch
2017 has been a year that has delivered on several fronts in the boxing world, including high profile and meaningful showdowns with the sports’ biggest names raising their stock in the sport.
2017 also saw Mexican fan favorite Leo Santa Cruz (33-1-1, 18 KO’s) become a champion once again, as he delivered a beautiful performance in out boxing Northern Ireland’s Carl Frampton over 12 Rounds inside of the MGM Grand in a high-octane rematch that has Las Vegas on its feet.
The victory was one of the highlights of Santa Cruz’ championship career; one that has seen him win titles in three weight classes thus far.
And it was also a revenge victory for the only defeat he has suffered, as in July 2017 Frampton want on to win a narrow fight against Santa Cruz inside of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Following the rematch victory over Frampton, discussions and talk and hope in the boxing world turned to the possibility of Leo facing off with his friendly rival Abner Mares.
In August 2015, in a Premier Boxing Champions telecast, Santa Cruz won a majority-decision over Mares inside of the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
Mares rebounded nicely himself, however, winning a majority decision over Jesus Cuellar this past December that saw him reclaim the WBA featherweight title. Mares, now trained by former world champion and multiple-time Trainer of the Year Robert Garcia, fought with great passion vs. Cuellar, even registering a knockdown late in the fight.
The second battle between Santa Cruz and Mares makes perfect sense and it looked like a strong possibility that it was going to take place on October 7 but things of changed just a bit, however.
Turns out that Santa Cruz’s team wanted an interim match before the Mares rematch, and he is now set to face off with a former title challenger Chris Avalos on October 14 from the StubHub Center in Carson California.
Mares Will also be on the card, facing off with Andres Gutierrez in the co-feature.
The hope is that each man will emerge victoriously and that the Rematch can be set for the first quarter of 2018.
Avalos is a very tough and game fighter but he is also showing limitations this far as a pro. Sporting record of 27 victories against five losses, Avalos has lost three of his past five bouts, all of them by technical knockout, to the likes of Oscar Valdez, Carl Frampton, and Mark Magsayo.
Santa Cruz holds an amateur victory over Avalos, plus he is the far more accomplished professional fighter, as well as appearing to be the bigger man.
It may end up being Mares (30-2-1, 15 KO’s) who has the tougher fight with Gutierrez. Still just 24 years old, Gutierrez was scheduled to face off with Frampton actually most recently before an injury on the eve of the fight forced the cancellation of about.
Gutierrez (35-1-1, 25 KO’s) has only lost once; a majority decision to former champion Christian Mijares, so he figures to be alive dog versus Mares.
