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Santa Cruz’ Size And Style Overcome Mares’ Aggression
This past Saturday night there was a war in the city of Los Angeles. It wasn’t between police and protesters and although the intention was to perhaps hurt and injure the opposing entity, no one was hurt. I’m talking about the 12-round featherweight title bout between Leo Santa Cruz 31-0-1 (17) and Abner Mares 29-2-1 (15).
Combined they threw 2037 punches and it seemed as if 2025 of them were with murderous intent. It’s been years since there’s been a fight on free TV half as great as the Santa Cruz-Mares slug-fest.
If the Mayweather-Pacquiao bout and the recent Mosley-Mayorga rematch represent everything that is wrong with professional boxing, you better believe Santa Cruz-Mares is ideally everything that makes boxing the great sport that it is when two evenly matched world class title challengers/holders confront each other. Leo and Abner are world class pros with equal skill and guts. Santa Cruz, 27, and Mares, 29, are at or near their physical prime, they’re both hungry and determined and last but not least they confronted each other with contrasting boxing styles. And when all was said and done – it was Santa Cruz’ size and reach, which dictates his style, which ended up being the difference in the fight resulting in Santa Cruz’s majority decision verdict (117-111, 117-111 and 114-114).
The fight started similar to the way the three round war between all-time-greats Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns did slightly over 30 years ago. The shorter Mares charged out of his corner at the opening bell and tossed massive bombs at the taller Santa Cruz. He repeated the same strategy in the second round and after six minutes of some great exchanges, Mares, by a close margin had the edge and got the better of it. His aggression somewhat smothered Santa Cruz and as long as they were close and fighting inside, it was most beneficial to Mares.
“I thought he might try to outbox me, but he came straight out and he wanted to knock me out like I thought he might. But we figured him out and we got the win,” Santa Cruz said.
I’m not sure if I would say Santa Cruz figured Mares out and then successfully altered his style and ultimately won a majority of the later rounds to earn the decision. I believe it was more a case of physicality in favor of Santa Cruz and also because Mares is just a human being. How many big shots can a man take and continue to force the fight every round as if it were the first?
During the first two blistering rounds Mares fought his fight. However, it’s only natural that he slowed down a little as the fight progressed. In the early going Santa Cruz was rushed and fought more to keep Mares occupied so he didn’t get steam rolled by him. While both were fresh and at full strength Mares was able to dictate the terms. However, that was an unrealistic pace for Mares to sustain and Santa Cruz only needed him to slow down slightly, and once that happened he was more able to impose his jab and reach on Abner. Now instead of getting touched by a solid jab here and there and one of every three or four finishing shots that Santa Cruz cut loose with he was getting hit with flush combinations. Well, shots like that take a toll on the shorter fighter who has to pay for trying to get inside.
That sequence became the pattern of the fight. Yes, Mares rested up in spurts and unleashed some hellacious assaults at Santa Cruz, but from the middle of the bout on, they did only enough to keep Leo from dominating the action. What they didn’t do was swing the fight back in favor of Mares. The height and reach disadvantage for Mares made the mountain in front of him named Santa Cruz a tall order for him to scale. Add to that Santa Cruz wasn’t predictable and really varied his offense during the last third of the bout and what you come away with is a solid but very competitive decision win for Santa Cruz.
Stylistically, Leo will always be a problem for Mares. Abner is a natural attacker due to his body build and there’s nothing he can do about that. Until this past weekend he always managed to make the ‘come in low attacking style’ work for him. Santa Cruz is really the first fighter he’s met where the price to pay in order to get in position to where he needs to be was too steep. Santa Cruz didn’t prove that he was better or tougher than Mares. He just happens to have the ideal build, style and temperament to win a few more rounds against him when he and Mares match up.
What a great fight from start to finish. The only negative associated with the Santa Cruz-Mares bout was….one of the first commercials after the fight that aired was a spot hyping Mayweather-Berto. This is a fight that will be equally as fan friendly as Mayweather-Guerrero, and you’ll have to pay to see it.
Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com
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Najee Lopez Steps up in Class and Wins Impressively at Plant City
Garry Jonas’ ProBox series returned to its regular home in Plant City, Florida, tonight with a card topped by a 10-round light heavyweight match between fast-rising Najee Lopez and former world title challenger Lenin Castillo. This was considered a step-up fight for the 25-year-old Lopez, an Atlanta-born-fighter of Puerto Rican heritage. Although the 36-year-old Castillo had lost two of his last three heading in, he had gone the distance with Dimitry Bivol and Marcus Browne and been stopped only once (by Callum Smith).
Lopez landed the cleaner punches throughout. Although Castillo seemed unfazed during the first half of the fight, he returned to his corner at the end of round five exhibiting signs of a fractured jaw.
In the next round, Lopez cornered him against the ropes and knocked him through the ropes with a left-right combination. Referee Emil Lombardo could have stopped the fight right there, but he allowed the courageous Castillo to carry on for a bit longer, finally stopping the fight as Castillo’s corner and a Florida commissioner were signaling that it was over.
The official time was 2:36 of round six. Bigger fights await the talented Lopez who improved to 13-0 with his tenth win inside the distance. Castillo declined to 25-7-1.
Co-Feature
In a stinker of a heavyweight fight, Stanley Wright, a paunchy, 34-year-old North Carolina journeyman, scored a big upset with a 10-round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Jeremiah Milton.
Wright carried 280 pounds, 100 pounds more than in his pro debut 11 years ago. Although he was undefeated (13-0, 11 KOs), he had never defeated an opponent with a winning record and his last four opponents were a miserable 19-48-2. Moreover, he took the fight on short notice.
What Wright had going for him was fast hands and, in the opening round, he put Milton on the canvas with a straight right hand. From that point, Milton fought tentatively and Wright, looking fatigued as early as the fourth round, fought only in spurts. It seemed doubtful that he could last the distance, but Milton, the subject of a 2021 profile in these pages, was wary of Wright’s power and unable to capitalize. “It’s almost as if Milton is afraid to win,” said ringside commentator Chris Algieri during the ninth stanza when the bout had devolved into a hugfest.
The judges had it 96-93 and 97-92 twice for the victorious Wright who boosted his record to 14-0 without improving his stature.
Also
In the TV opener, a 10-round contest in the junior middleweight division, Najee Lopez stablemate Darrelle Valsaint (12-0, 10 KOs) scored his career-best win with a second-round knockout of 35-year-old Dutch globetrotter Stephen Danyo (23-7-3).
A native Floridian of Haitian descent, the 22-year-old Valsaint was making his eighth start in Plant City. He rocked Danyo with a chopping right hand high on the temple and then, as Danyo slumped forward, applied the exclamation point, a short left uppercut. The official time was 2:17 of round two.
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Japanese Superstar Naoya Inoue is Headed to Vegas after KOing Ye Joon Kim
Japan’s magnificent Naoya Inoue, appearing in his twenty-fourth title fight, scored his 11th straight stoppage tonight while successfully defending his unified super bantamweight title, advancing his record to 29-0 (26 KOs) at the expense of Ye Joon Kim. The match at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena came to an end at the 2:25 mark of round four when U.S. referee Mark Nelson tolled “10” over the brave but overmatched Korean.
Kim, raised in a Seoul orphanage, had a few good moments, but the “Monster” found his rhythm in the third round, leaving Kim with a purplish welt under his left eye. In the next frame, he brought the match to a conclusion, staggering the Korean with a left and then finishing matters with an overhand right that put Kim on the seat of his pants, dazed and wincing in pain.
Kim, who brought a 21-2-2 record, took the fight on 10 days’ notice, replacing Australia’s Sam Goodman who suffered an eye injury in sparring that never healed properly, forcing him to withdraw twice.
Co-promoter Bob Arum, who was in the building, announced that Inoue’s next fight would happen in Las Vegas in the Spring. Speculation centers on Mexico City’s Alan Picasso (31-0-1, 17 KOs) who is ranked #1 by the WBC. However, there’s also speculation that the 31-year-old Inoue may move up to featherweight and seek to win a title in a fifth weight class, in which case a potential opponent is Brandon Figueroa should he defeat former Inoue foe Stephen Fulton next weekend. In “olden days,” this notion would have been dismissed as the Japanese superstar and Figueroa have different promoters, but the arrival of Turki Alalshikh, the sport’s Daddy Warbucks, has changed the dynamic. Tonight, Naoya Inoue made his first start as a brand ambassador for Riyadh Season.
Simmering on the backburner is a megafight with countryman Junto Nakatani, an easy fight to make as Arum has ties to both. However, the powers-that-be would prefer more “marination.”
Inoue has appeared twice in Las Vegas, scoring a seventh-round stoppage of Jason Moloney in October of 2020 at the MGM Bubble and a third-round stoppage of Michael Dasmarinas at the Virgin Hotels in June of 2021.
Semi-wind-up
In a 12-round bout for a regional welterweight title, Jin Sasaki improved to 19-1-1 (17) with a unanimous decision over Shoki Sakai (29-15-3). The scores were 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112.
Also
In a bout in which both contestants were on the canvas, Toshiki Shimomachi (20-1-3) edged out Misaki Hirano (11-2), winning a majority decision. A 28-year-old Osaka southpaw with a fan-friendly style, the lanky Shimomachi, unbeaten in his last 22 starts, competes as a super bantamweight. A match with Inoue may be in his future.
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Eric Priest Wins Handily on Thursday’s Golden Boy card at the Commerce Casino
Model turned fighter Eric Priest jabbed and jolted his way into the super middleweight rankings with a shutout decision win over veteran Tyler Howard on Thursday.
In his first main event Priest (15-0, 8 KOs) proved ready for contender status by defusing every attack Tennessee’s Howard (20-3, 11 KOs) could muster at Commerce Casino, the second fight in six days at the LA County venue.
All ticket monies collected on the Folden Boy Promotions card were contributed to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation as they battle wildfires sprouting all over Los Angeles County due to high winds.
Priest, 26, had never fought anyone near Howard’s caliber but used a ramrod jab to keep the veteran off-balance and unable to muster a forceful counter-attack. Round after round the Korean-American fighter pumped left jabs while circling his opposition.
Though hit with power shots, none seemed to faze Howard but his own blows were unable to put a dent in Priest. After 10 rounds of the same repetitive action all three judges scored the fight 100-90 for Priest who now wins a regional super middleweight title.
Priest also joins the top 15 rankings of the WBA organization.
In a fight between evenly matched middleweights, Jordan Panthen (11-0, 9 KOs) remained undefeated after 10 rounds versus DeAundre Pettus (12-4, 7 KOs). Though equally skilled, Panthen simply out-worked the South Caroliina fighter to win by unanimous decision. No knockdowns were scored.
Other Bouts
Grant Flores (8-0, 6 KOs) knocked out Costa Rica’s David Lobo Ramirez (17-4, 12 KOs) with two successive right uppercuts at 2:59 of the second round of the super welterweight fight.
Cayden Griffith (3-0, 3 KOs) used a left hook to the body to stop Mark Misiura at 1:43 of the second round in a super welterweight bout.
Jordan Fuentes (3-0) floored Brandon Badillo (0-3-1) in the third round and proceeded to win by decision after four rounds in a super bantamweight fight.
A super featherweight match saw Leonardo Sanchez (8-0) win by decision over Joseph Cruz Brown (10-12) after six rounds.
Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy
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