Abner Mares fought the fight of his life, but is he finally going to get the Nonito Donaire treatment. And by treatment, I don’t mean getting the fight that almost everyone wants to see because this fight between Mares and Donaire has built itself up as the super bantamweight version of Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao.
Mares first burst onto the scene against, then IBF champion, Yonnhy Perez. Then, Mares — coming off an almost 8 month layoff — returned back to the ring on Golden Boy’s Fight Night at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, California against Felipe Almanza, stopping him in a 5th round KO. We then saw Mares take on a grueling schedule of opponents for the next two years, continuously facing the best possible opponents available to him by joining the Showtime bantamweight tournament. Mares twice defeated ex-champion Joseph Agbeko; he also earned a decision over former titleholder Vic Darchinyan and battled to a draw with Yonnhy Perez.
After defeating Agbeko, not once but twice, Mares then chased Donaire up to 122lbs, winning a unanimous decision over former titlist Eric Morel in April to earn the WBC belt that Japan’s Toshiaki Nishioka vacated.
What is left for him to do in the division, other than an obvious fight with Donaire? Should he fight Leo Santa Cruz? Sure, it would be an all action affair, but would it be fair to Mares? After all, he’s given blood, sweat and tears for this sport and with each fight has made his resume more creditable.
“The people want that fight, honestly that’s the reason why the people want that fight and it’s only right we give them that fight, we can’t wait any longer. It’s a fight that has to happen, a lot of people consider me the best at 122 pounds and a lot consider him [Nonito Donaire] the best 122 pounder, one way to figure it out is fighting each other,” expressed Mares.
Making this matchup may prove to be just as difficult as a Mayweather-Pacquiao super fight, due to the ongoing “Cold War” that’s been going on for years between the two Promotional companies Top Rank and Golden Boy.
The list of possible battles that could have taken place had the two companies decide to set their differences aside for the sake of the boxing could only be summed up by historical fights that would of went down in the boxing history books.
“The public is demanding that fight and me, as a fighter, I’m saying yes to it, I think [Donaire] said he’s willing as well, my promotion said they’re willing to sit down and talk to Bob Arum. It’s just a matter of communication and having them come up with the date and all that stuff,” explained Mares.
Donaire has made excuses as to why certain fights can’t be made with WBA 122-pound belt holder Guillermo Rigondeaux, things like his style not making for exciting fights and a lack of popularity. After Abner Mares retained his WBC super-bantamweight title Saturday night in a gritty, controversial to some (not in my opinion), with Anselmo Moreno, Donaire may use the excuse that Mares is in fact a dirty fighter after already having controversial bouts with Agbeko where it can be argued that more fouls landed than clean punches. There were some low blows landed on Moreno and no points deducted, there’s a possibility this could also be yet another road block to a Donaire-Mares.
“They can say all they want real people that know boxing know what type of fighter I am, real people that have been inside the ring know what they’re talking about, one of them is definitely Paulie Malignaggi, he was commentating and definitely put in his thoughts there. He really shut a lot of those commentators up by giving his thoughts as a fighter and [explaining] what goes down inside the ring and why sometimes things happen. All I have to say is I fought the best and beaten the best and that’s that at the end of the day I am going to have people hate on me.
“I’m going to have people not like me I don’t know why I can’t change their way of thinking, I just fight I fight for them I fight for the people, I’m not a dirty fighter I’m a guy that leaves everything in the ring, I fight the way I have to fight that’s the only thing I can tell you I fight the way I have to fight and I come out with my hand raised and that’s enough for me enough for my family and so be it,” Mares said.
I’m not defending Mares at all, but the style match ups between the two, well we knew it wouldn’t play out to be a pretty fight with Moreno being a southpaw and more of a boxer because boxers need space and Mares’ attack is relentless to the body.
“I had to literally run to catch up to this guy [Anselmo Moreno] not to give him any space. I knew it was going to be a difficult fight and I said it before if I have to make a ugly fight so be it as long as I get that win.”
Donaire is a boxer, but also a puncher mixed in with highly accurate counterpunching, we all remember the devastating power as a 118-pounder, highlighted by a second-round knockout that sent Fernando Montiel into what almost looked or can be compared to as a seizure, capturing the WBO and WBC titles in February of last year.
Mares continues his case as a force to be reckon with and isn’t taking any backward steps as he turned down the possibility of a match up with he and Santa Cruz, a fight that can easily be made being that both fighters are on the Golden Boy roster.
Believing he is a clean fighter and things happen in the ring is how Mares looks at the mishaps that took place this past weekend.
“In this fight it only happen once then I got warned about it, again it wasn’t my intention you can see in the replay literally like his elbow pushing my head down and you know a punch went low that it and that was it from there now I’m a dirty fighter. It can continue it might happen in another fight, all eyes are on me right now I can’t do anything, again I go in there and do my job I was happy with my performance, my team was happy and so be it, I’m just going to keep on fighting the best and we all know who that is,” Mares told Tha PUGILIST KOrner radio.
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