How Abner Mares Lost to Johnny Gonzalez: A Brief Look at the How
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
Of the eight International Boxing Federation, International Boxing Organization and World Boxing Council Super Bantamweight and Featherweight World title bouts Abner Mares has been in, , only one ended in a stoppage, Daniel Ponce De Leon. The other seven went the 12 round distance.
The first 19 bouts of Mares took place in Las Vegas, Nevada, Arizona, California, New Jersey, Texas, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Illinois, and included three WBO NABO Bantamweight title bouts. Three opponents of these 19 got knocked out. Felipe Almanza of Columbia was one of them, a 28 loss fighter who lost 13 of his last 15 professional bouts. Carlos Fulgencio was another, an 11 loss fighter who lost his last six bouts, who won only once outside of his home country. The third was Francisco Soto, a 27 loss fighter from Tijuana, Mexico, who had won only one bout in his last 12, going into the Mares bout.
Knockouts mean power. Not since Ruben Olivares, who knocked out 79 opponents in his 89 recorded wins (there may have been more), has a Mexican exhibited extreme power in the lower weight classes. Johnny Gonzalez has 21 knockouts in the first three rounds among his 47 knockouts, so his one round demolition of Abner Mares is not a new thing. Simply put, a power hitter is going to explore whether a technical boxer can really take a shot. If the power hitter determines his opponent cannot take the heat, he is going to test him with some power heat.
Gonzalez knocks down Mares twice http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1s1r690ShY
When Gonzalez knocked down Mares for the second time with a very wide left hook, as reckless as the punch was it was perfectly placed on the China chinned jaw of Mares. Straight power shots and power books to the head and jaw, when thrown by the power hitter with accuracy, do serious and often fatal damage. Fighters like Joe Frazier and Ernie Shavers patented the power hook in the upper weight classes. Not since Olivares has a Mexican like Gonzalez been able to hit so hard so effectively. The Mares camp did not prepare for such a confrontational style of opponent, and had no way of changing the game plan once the bombs got thrown. Fights which end in the first round are not always an indicator of the abilities of the fighters, just a great difference in styles.
The consistent featherweight fighters, like Salvador Sanchez or Eusebio Pedroza, knew how to outwork and outlast the power hitters in this featherweight division. Remember too, when Wilfredo Gomez moved up from super bantamweight to featherweight and junior lightweight, he had to win his titles in the higher weights by outpointing Juan LaPorte and Rocky Lockridge, and lost both titles by knockout, to Azumah Nelson and Alfredo Layne. Changing weight classes, it can be said, is always a tricky business. Abenr Mares, though a talented technical fighter, is no Archie Moore of the featherweight division. The late Alexis Arguello had to change his game plan in the first round when Andrew Ganigan found a style flaw and knocked him down. Mares does not have the analytical sense to be able to do this, not many fighters do, but Mares will still be able beat many other fighters out there who lack power in a technical war.
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