Leo Santa Cruz Dominates Cristian Mijares in Unanimous Decision Victory

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Another Santa Cruz fight. Another dominant win. In the co-main event of the Alvarez vs. Angulo “Toe-to-Toe” pay-per-view, Leo Santa Cruz (27-0-1, 15 knockouts) was set to defend his super bantamweight title against Cristian Mijares (49-8-2, 24 knockouts).

From the opening bell, Santa Cruz was quick to assert his dominance. With slick technique and a mind-numbing volley of punches thrown, Santa Cruz made sure his opponent knew that he was in for in signing the contract for this fight. The first three rounds were rather one-sided, but after an accidental headbutt opening a cut over Santa Cruz’ eye, some kind of animal in Mijares awakened. Throwing caution to the wind, Mijares and Santa Cruz went toe-to-toe, and although Mijares was getting hurt via shots to the body, he kept with Santa Cruz and battled to the bell.

Still, the ultimate deciding factor was the much higher punch output from Santa Cruz. As the fight wore on, it was clear that Santa Cruz punches were beginning to take their toll on the veteran, Mijares. Much to Mijares’ credit, his defense allowed him to avoid absorbing many unnecessary shots, but there was little he could do to keep up or respond to the storm of blows being delivered to him by Santa Cruz. This pattern continued up until the closing bell of the fight, and it was clear how the decision was going to read.

The judges awarded the decision to Leo Santa Cruz on scores of (119-109), (120-108), and (120-108). Sure, the judges may have scored the bout a shutout, but it was a fun watch nonetheless.

Still, a win is a win, but many people are now hoping for Leo Santa Cruz to step up in competition. With the politics surrounding boxing promoters’ there is no telling if and when this may ever happened, but here’s to hoping we see Santa Cruz in the ring sooner rather than later.