In one of the most action-packed fights of 2015, Leo Santa Cruz narrowly outpointed Los Angeles rival Abner Mares by majority decision to win a vacant featherweight world title before a rocking crowd of 13,109 at the Staples Center and a national television audience on ESPN.
From the moment the fight ended, Mares said he wanted a rematch, and now it looks like he will get one.
The WBA on Monday ordered Santa Cruz, the organization’s so-called “super” world titleholder, to make a mandatory defense against Mares, the sanctioning body’s “regular” titlist, as it continues the process of reducing the number of titles it sanctions. The camps were given 30 days to make a deal, or a purse bid will be ordered.
It does not figure to be a complicated fight to make because Santa Cruz and Mares, both of whom have won world titles in three weight classes, are in the stable of manager/adviser Al Haymon and fight under his Premier Boxing Champions banner.
“Since we’re both under the same management, I don’t think there will be any issue with it going to purse bid,” Mares told ESPN on Monday. “It’s definitely the fight I’ve been wanting since my defeat. It was a really close fight, a great fight, and now, in a different moment in my career, it’s the perfect timing for a rematch. If this happens now, it will be a totally different Abner Mares with a different game plan to get the win this time.”
Since beating Mares, Santa Cruz has fought three times and gone 2-1. He retained the title by easy fifth-round knockout against former junior featherweight titlist Kiko Martinez and split a pair of high-intensity battles with Carl Frampton.
Santa Cruz (33-1-1, 18 KOs) lost a majority decision and his title in the first fight against Frampton in July in a strong fight of the year candidate and then exacted revenge by majority decision on Jan. 28.
Following the rematch with Frampton, there was much discussion about the pair hooking up for a third fight right away. But it appears as though both will instead take interim fights ahead of a possible rubber match.
That would leave Santa Cruz, 28, to face Mares, 31, again while Frampton, of Northern Ireland, could challenge titleholder Lee Selby, of Wales, in a fight that would be a major event in the United Kingdom. Frampton and Selby are also both advised by Haymon.
Since losing to Santa Cruz, Mares (30-2-1, 15 KO) has boxed just once, knocking Jesus Cuellar down in the 11th round and winning a split decision to take his secondary belt in December in a strong performance in his first fight under the tutelage of trainer Robert Garcia.
“I haven’t reached out [to] Mr. Haymon yet about this fight, but I will let him do his work,” Mares said. “But after the Cuellar fight, I asked for the rematch with Leo again. That’s the first fight I asked for.”
The 2015 showdown featured tremendous action from start to finish. Santa Cruz and Mares combined to throw an extraordinary 2,037 punches and land 600, according to CompuBox punch statistics. Santa Cruz, whose huge punch output has been his calling card, landed 373 of 1,057 punches (35 percent), and Mares connected on 227 of 980 shots (23 percent).
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