LOS ANGELES -- In 2015 Leo Santa Cruz (34-1-1, 19 KOs) and Abner Mares (31-2-1, 15 KOs) met in the ring and fought for the vacant WBA "super" featherweight title. The two did battle over 12 rounds in what was a fantastic fight and now three years later they will do it again. That same WBA "super" featherweight title will be on the line Saturday night on Showtime and fans can only hope for another fight packed with action.
Above everything else, what makes Santa Cruz special is his punch output. He has some of the busiest hands in all of boxing and he's relentless on the attack. He fights out of the orthodox stance and has an excellent jab that helps set up the rest of his offense. The rest of that offense includes an accurate and stiff straight right hand which is Santa Cruz's best weapon. While Santa Cruz is at his best when he has some space to land his jab and right hand, on the inside he also does a nice job of catching opponents with short uppercuts. Defensively Santa Cruz certainly isn't slick but he has a great chin and doesn't mind eating some leather.
Santa Cruz has been more active than Mares has since their first fight. Since their first meeting Santa Cruz has gone 3-1 with two knockouts and he faced high level opposition in Carl Frampton and Kiko Martinez while also scoring a win over Chris Avalos. Santa Cruz had a terrible strategy in his first fight with Frampton, not using his size and reach advantage which resulted in his first career loss. However, he rebounded nicely to clearly beat Frampton in their rematch. Now Santa Cruz will look to defend his WBA title for the second time after winning it back from Frampton in early 2017.
Mares is also an orthodox fighter who, like Santa Cruz likes to trade a lot of leather. Mares doesn't use his jab as much as Santa Cruz does but he definitely makes good use of his left hook. Along with his left hook Mares also has a good right hand and he really works well on the inside. When he can get in the pocket Mares does a nice job of attacking the body, something that could help take the wind out of Santa Cruz's sails and slow him down later in the fight. He also isn't great defensively and is certainly there to be hit but usually shows a good chin, at least when he's not fighting Jhonny Gonzalez.
Mares has only suffered two losses in his career, a brutal first round knockout to Gonzalez and his majority decision loss in his first fight with Santa Cruz. After Saturday night Mares hopes that Santa Cruz becomes another one of his many victims who already include Daniel Ponce De Leon, Anselmo Moreno, Vic Darchinyan, and Joseph Agbeko twice. Following his loss to Santa Cruz, Mares was able to score an impressive win over Jesus Cuellar but he's only fought twice since 2015. In 2016 he beat Cuellar and in 2017 he beat Andres Gutierrez but he certainly hasn't been as active as Santa Cruz.
The first fight between Santa Cruz and Mares was action packed and the rematch shouldn't be much different. Both fighters like to come forward and really let their hands go and neither is particularly adept at slipping punches. Expect Mares to try and get inside and do most of his work from the pocket where he will look to attack the body of Santa Cruz in an attempt to break him down over the course of the fight. That won't be easy for him to do though since Santa Cruz has a 3-inch height and reach advantage on him. Meanwhile, Santa Cruz will need to control the distance in this fight, much like he did in the rematch against Frampton. Santa Cruz needs to keep Mares at the end of his jab and consistently catch him with his straight right hand to deter him from trying to get inside. Whoever is able to control the distance in this fight should come out the winner.
PREDICTION: The first fight between Leo Santa Cruz and Abner Mares ended in a majority decision in favor of Santa Cruz. This time around the results won't be much different. Santa Cruz will be able to keep Mares at the end of his punches with his busy jab and accurate straight right hand and he will get the unanimous decision win in another good fight.
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| Santa Cruz catching Carl Frampton with a strong right hand |
Santa Cruz has been more active than Mares has since their first fight. Since their first meeting Santa Cruz has gone 3-1 with two knockouts and he faced high level opposition in Carl Frampton and Kiko Martinez while also scoring a win over Chris Avalos. Santa Cruz had a terrible strategy in his first fight with Frampton, not using his size and reach advantage which resulted in his first career loss. However, he rebounded nicely to clearly beat Frampton in their rematch. Now Santa Cruz will look to defend his WBA title for the second time after winning it back from Frampton in early 2017.
Mares is also an orthodox fighter who, like Santa Cruz likes to trade a lot of leather. Mares doesn't use his jab as much as Santa Cruz does but he definitely makes good use of his left hook. Along with his left hook Mares also has a good right hand and he really works well on the inside. When he can get in the pocket Mares does a nice job of attacking the body, something that could help take the wind out of Santa Cruz's sails and slow him down later in the fight. He also isn't great defensively and is certainly there to be hit but usually shows a good chin, at least when he's not fighting Jhonny Gonzalez.
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| Mares admiring his knockdown of Jesus Cuellar |
The first fight between Santa Cruz and Mares was action packed and the rematch shouldn't be much different. Both fighters like to come forward and really let their hands go and neither is particularly adept at slipping punches. Expect Mares to try and get inside and do most of his work from the pocket where he will look to attack the body of Santa Cruz in an attempt to break him down over the course of the fight. That won't be easy for him to do though since Santa Cruz has a 3-inch height and reach advantage on him. Meanwhile, Santa Cruz will need to control the distance in this fight, much like he did in the rematch against Frampton. Santa Cruz needs to keep Mares at the end of his jab and consistently catch him with his straight right hand to deter him from trying to get inside. Whoever is able to control the distance in this fight should come out the winner.
PREDICTION: The first fight between Leo Santa Cruz and Abner Mares ended in a majority decision in favor of Santa Cruz. This time around the results won't be much different. Santa Cruz will be able to keep Mares at the end of his punches with his busy jab and accurate straight right hand and he will get the unanimous decision win in another good fight.
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