SANTA CRUZ VS. MARES RESULTS, VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS & POST PRESS CONFERENCE
By Chris Alexander, LA/Nevada Boxing Video Reporter
Los Angeles, CA (August 30th, 2015)- With a packed house of crazy fans and Abner Mares charging right at him from the first bell, Leo Santa Cruz wanted to fight.
Santa Cruz beat Mares by majority decision Saturday night, remaining undefeated with a spectacular technical performance, in an entertaining featherweight bout between two LA fighters.
Santa Cruz 31-0-1 survived the night breaking through furious exchanges and controlled several rounds with his jab and reach, overcoming Mares’ pressure. He left Mares battered after the final bell, raising his arms in victory.
“My dad told me that we could beat him by boxing,” Santa Cruz said about his father and trainer, Jose. “We want to be aggressive, but tonight we had to box him, too. And that’s how we got it done.”A huge crowd at Staples Center supported Santa Cruz over Mares. Both fighters were born in Mexico and grew up in the Los Angeles area, attracting a turnout of 13,109 to decide the new local boxing King.
The fans got a treat of a fight with 2,037 total punches, and Santa Cruz came away with the crown. Both fighters immediately said they would welcome a rematch, which would be great on another PBC card. Mares (29-2-1) did work inside and survived numerous big shots, but ultimately couldn’t land a decisive blow. Although he felt he won the fight, Mares emerged frustrated by Santa Cruz’s jab that kept him inches away from a chance to change the fight.”I think I made a mistake in my strategy,” Mares said. “I came out strong, and my corner was telling me to slow down. I wanted to go as fast as I could.”Two judges scored the fight 117-111 for Santa Cruz, while Max DeLuca had a 114-114 draw.
On the undercard, Julio Cesar Ceja came back from an early knockdown and stopped Hugo Ruiz with 26 seconds left in the fifth round of the U.S. debuts by two awesome Mexican 122-pounders.
Ruiz knocked down Ceja 29-1, 27 KOs with a left hook in the third round, and Ceja was down on all three judges’ scorecards when he laid out Ruiz 35-3 with a left to the chin. Several moments later, the referee stopped the bout.
Ceja earned a shot at Santa Cruz for his WBC 122-pound belt if Santa Cruz drops down to super featherweight.
Alfredo “Perro” Angulo also stopped Hector Munoz after five rounds for his second straight victory following a three-fight run for the Mexican super middleweight.
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