It’s official, as summer turns into falls (as you Americans would say), boxing’s off season is coming to an end. And season openers don’t get much better than Leo Santa Cruz vs Abner Mares, one of the better fights in the sport as a whole. There’s also a pretty good old guy fight (if you’re into that sort of thing, which I am) and a few other bits and pieces. Let’s get to it.
- Leo Santa Cruz Vs Abner Mares, Saturday, ESPN/ESPN Deportes, Los Angeles. Unquestionably the best fight of the week, Saturday’s “Premier Boxing Champions” on ESPN headliner sees featherweights Santa Cruz (30-0-1, 17 KO) and Mares (29-1-1, 15 KO) finally going head to head after spending years around the same neighborhood. Yet it’s also a strange one: Mares hasn’t faced anyone of note since a devastating KO loss to Jhonny Gonzalez two years ago, while Santa Cruz hasn’t beaten any truly top-tier opponents at all. How to handicap it then? If Mares hasn’t been ruined mentally by the Gonzalez loss (which is a bit of an if, given his reluctance to face top opposition since) then I like his more disciplined attack to overcome Santa Cruz’s size advantage and high-volume attack. Either way, though, you’ve got two very offensively-minded boxers going at it, and fans are in for a real treat.
- Shane Mosley Vs Ricardo Mayorga, Saturday, Integrated Sports PPV, Los Angeles. Mosley (47-9-1, 39 KO) and Mayorga (31-8-1, 25 KO), at the ages of 43 and 41, respectively, should be retired. Still, if they’re going to keep fighting, I’d rather it was against each other. And it’s been a fun ride, with cigarette slapping brawls and plenty of name calling. It’s just a pity it has to be on a $50 pay-per-view on the same night as Santa Cruz/Mares. Mosley definitely gets the early knockout in any case.
- Trevor Bryan Vs Derric Rossy, Friday, Showtime, Las Vegas. Don King-promoted heavyweight prospect Bryan takes a step up against veteran heavyweight trial horse Rossy.
- Jorge Paez, Jr. Vs Daniel Echeverria, Saturday, beIN Sports Espanol, San Luis Potosi. Paez, Jr., whose dad was a much better fighter, faces up-and-coming knockout artist Echeverria, who will probably win because Paez, Jr. sucks.
