Abner Mares vs. Jonathan Oquendo
After almost a year out of the ring former top ten pound for pound fighter Abner Mares will make his return. Mares hasn't fought since being knocked out in stunning fashion in the 1st round of his fight against Jhonny Gonzalez. Now Mares is scheduled to go 10 rounds in the featherweight division against Jonathan Oquendo. This fight will not only be Mares' return to the ring but also renew the best rivalry in boxing, Mexico vs. Puerto Rico.
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| Mares was riding high until he ran into Gonzalez |
If there is one word which best described the fighting style of Mares it is relentless. The orthodox fighter seems to be constantly walking down his opponents and while he doesn't possess one punch knockout power he is good at wearing his foes down over the course of a fight. One reason Mares can put so many punches together with such success is his hand speed. Offensively Mares has a lot of tools in his bag, his jab is nice, he has a strong left hook, and he also has a sort of jab/left hook he throws at times. He also throws a very strong uppercut with his left hand and his most powerful punch may be his overhand right. On defense Mares isn't the quite elite but he does move well in the ring. The only real knock against Mares is that sometimes he has too much heart for his own good which was never more evident than in his fight with Gonzalez.
Against Gonzalez, Mares was rocked with a massive left hook in the 1st round and was badly hurt. He was able to beat the count but instead of playing it safe and clinching to survive the round Mares went right back at Gonzalez who rocked him again and put him on the canvas at which point referee Jack Reiss waved the fight off. That was the only loss of Mares' career, which has been an impressive one thus far. As a pro Mares holds a record of 26-1-1 with 14 knockouts and he has many impressive wins throughout his career beating fighters like Vic Darchinyan, Joseph Agbeko twice, Eric Morel, Anselmo Moreno, and Daniel Ponce De Leon. Now after a long layoff Mares will try to get back to his top tier status by beating the tough Oquendo.
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| Oquendo is a tough customer |
Oquendo may not be as skilled as his Mexican counterpart but he is just as aggressive which should make for an exciting fight. If the hands of Oquendo are slower than those of Mares it isn't by much and Oquendo also has a good stiff jab. Along with that jab Oquendo has a strong left hook although it does come in wild at times but his biggest punch is his right hand. Probably the best thing Oquendo does is really dig hard to the body on the inside. However defensively he isn't very good and doesn't use his feet well. In his three career losses two have been by the knockout which does bode well for him.
While Oquendo hasn't faced the same level of competition that Mares has he has been in the ring with top talents such as Juan Manuel Lopez and Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. but he lost both of those bouts. His career record stands at 24-3 with a strong 16 knockouts but Mares will be the toughest challenge he has had as a pro. The best chance that Oquendo has to upset Mares is to make this a phone booth brawl, something fans would certainly enjoy.
For Oquendo to make this fight a brawl probably won't be the most difficult thing in the world because Mares also likes to trade at close range. However Mares also uses his feet much better than Oquendo and is also the crisper puncher. Mares needs to be careful not to get caught with the right hand of Oquendo and needs to fight with the confidence he previously displayed throughout his career. Oquendo will need to put in a lot of body work early in the hopes that he can slow Mares down and punish him in the late rounds. This should be a good fight for the fans and could end up stealing the show.
PREDICTION: Jonathan Oquendo is a tough fighter but his lack of footwork will hurt him in this bout. Abner Mares looked like an elite fighter before his knockout to Jhonny Gonzalez and he should go back to looking like one against Oquendo. Mares will fight smart and win this fight by the way of unanimous decision.
Juan Manuel Lopez vs. Francisco Vargas
The co-feature won't be the only bout which features a Mexican fighter against a Puerto Rican one. That is because Puerto Rican Juan Manuel Lopez who may have saved his career as a top fighter in his last bout will be taking on the undefeated Mexican Francisco Vargas. The two are scheduled to go 10 rounds in the junior lightweight division and this will be a fight where anything can happen at any second.
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| Lopez may have saved his career against De Leon |
Lopez is an immensely talented offensive fighter who fights out of the southpaw stance. He has an excellent jab and a whizzing right hook that is quick as they come. Lopez also has a pretty good straight left hand but it is clear that his most dangerous punch is his right hook. However as fans are well aware of by now Lopez does have one huge flaw, his defense. Lopez will take his fair share of punishment and his chin is horrible. He has lost three times in his career and they have all come by the way of knockout. His weak chin is something to watch out for in his bout against Vargas who is a good puncher.
Until 2011 Lopez was looked at as one of the most talented fighters in the sport and a soon to be superstar. That was until he ran into the tough veteran Orlando Salido who stopped him in the 8th round of their first fight and in the 10th round of their 2012 rematch. Lopez won two fights after that against sub par opponents and when he stepped back up to face Mikey Garcia he was knocked out again this time in the 4th round. Even in his last fight which was a win over De Leon he had to get up off the canvas to win it. For his career Lopez has an impressive record of 34-3 with an unbelievable 31 knockouts and it seems like whenever you watch a Lopez fight it will end in a knockout one way or the other. Lopez certainly hopes in this fight it is Vargas who finishes the fight on his back.
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| Vargas looks to remain unbeaten |
Vargas is an orthodox fighter so head clashes could be big in this fight since Lopez is a southpaw. One reason Vargas has been so successful as a pro is because of his combinations and body work. Vargas has a nice jab and he likes to pop it a few times and bring his powerful right hand behind it. Also the relentless Vargas has a strong left hook that he throws equally well upstairs and to the body. Defensively Vargas doesn't do much and it seems his idea of defense is to throw so many punches his opponent doesn't have a chance to. That lack of defense should make this fight with Lopez a very interesting one.
Lopez may not have many big names on his growing resume but that doesn't mean he has been fighting bums or been protected. Almost all of Vargas' fights have come against opponents with winning records and he does have nice wins of Jerry Belmontes and Abner Cotto. After a long and successful amateur career Vargas turned pro and just kept winning. He now has a record of 19-0-1 with 13 knockouts and fans should learn a lot about him when he takes on Lopez.
This fight comes down to defense. Both fighters are very skilled offensively but neither one is great on the defensive side of things. Vargas has never been dropped as a pro but he hasn't been facing the same level of opposition that Lopez has. The experience of Lopez could be big in this fight but he will need to show Vargas he can take a punch early to get some respect from the Mexican fighter. If Lopez can handle the power of Vargas he should be able to use his hand speed and power of his own to win the fight. However Vargas is an aggressive fighter and always throws heavy leather so this one could easily go either way.
PREDICTION: Forget about what the odds are for this fight it is a near toss up. If Francisco Vargas can go to the body early on Juan Manuel Lopez he may be able to stop him late. However Lopez has been fighting at a higher level for a longer time and has plenty of power of his own which is why he will win this fight via 7th round knockout.
Johan Perez vs. Mauricio Herrera
The fight that will kick off this PPV card will be the only one where a title belt is on the line. Johan Perez will be bringing his WBA interim junior welterweight title into the ring against the always tough Mauricio Herrera in a 12 round bout. While many casual fans may not have heard of either fighter they both always come into the ring ready and hungry for the win.
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| Perez will do all he can to keep his title |
Standing at 5'11'' Perez is tall for the junior welterweight division. While that height can help a fighter it can also be detrimental if that fighter has long arms and slow hands. Perez's hands aren't very fast and he does not have a good jab, something every tall fighter should have in his arsenal. He does have a pretty nice left hook but it tends to come in a little wide and his best punch is his crisp straight right hand. He also tends to stand up tall and retreat straight back on defense which gets him caught. Still Perez usually seems to find a way to win.
The only loss Perez has suffered as a pro came against the aggressive Pablo Cesar Cano in 2012. Cano also represented one of Perez's tougher fights to date although he does have nice wins over Steve Forbes and Yoshihiro Kamegai. To date Perez holds a professional record of 19-1-1 with a strong 13 knockouts but he will be in the ring with a very tough, very crafty veteran in Herrera.
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| Herrera was robbed against Garcia in Puerto Rico |
Herrera is the type of fighter no one really wants to face if they don't have to. He doesn't have a tremendous amount of name recognition so beating him doesn't go very far to advance your career but he always has the chance to pull off the upset. Herrera is an orthodox fighter with a nice jab and very short, quick left hook. Herrera also has a nice overhand right that comes in quicker than expected. Herrera's defense isn't the best in the world and he has been cut many times but he has a never say die attitude and there is not quit in him.
Herrera's career has had many ups and downs. He beat Ruslan Provodnikov in 2011 which was one of the best of his career but he lost a very close fight to Mike Alvarado in 2012, a win Alvarado really had to work for. He followed that up by losing to the very powerful Karim Mayfield, also in an extremely close fight. In his last bout Herrera was in the ring against top ten pound for pound fighter Danny Garcia in Garcia's native Puerto Rico. Most people watching the fought thought Herrera beat Garcia and even had him badly bloodied but Herrera lost to the name fighter via majority decision. With all of his tough luck losses Herrera still has a nice record of 20-4 with only 7 knockouts. Herrera should be confident thought considering he has been in the ring with far better fighters than Perez.
Perez is the wild card here and fans will see if his record is legit or just smoke and mirrors because Herrera will make him work for everything. Herrera could be out for blood considering he feels he should have the title belts held by Garcia and he may make Perez pay for that injustice. This will be a big stage for Perez however and he will surely try to impress fans and get some more name recognition in the sport. Either way this isn't a bad fight to open up a good PPV card.
PREDICTION: Johan Perez may be taking the better record into the ring but it will be Mauricio Herrera who will have the better skills. Herrera has been in with a lot tougher than Perez and his experience will show as he wins this fight by the way of unanimous decision.
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