Mares posing with stablemate Santa Cruz (Photo: Carlos Delgado / GBP
n Thursday afternoon, Golden Boy Promotions held a press conference in Los Angeles to officially announce the Aug. 24 doubleheader in Carson, Calif., that features Abner Mares (26-0-1, 14 KOs) defending his featherweight title against Jhonny Gonzalez.
“This is going to be a tough fight for both of us, but a great fight for the fans. I want tough fights and I want to fight the best. I want to give the fans nothing but great fights. I proved against Ponce De Leon that I could carry my power to this weight class,” said Mares, who defeated Daniel Ponce De Leon in his previous fight.
“Jhonny Gonzalez and I go back a long ways. We were once both trained by Nacho Beristain. I was one of Jhonny’s sparring partners in Big Bear, Calif., before his fight against Israel Vazquez, but that was a long time ago (2006) and look at where we are now. I’m the champion and defending against him,” added Mares.
Gonzalez added, ”I just want to thank Abner Mares for taking this challenge and taking this fight. Abner Mares is a great fighter and that is why he’s the world champion.”
A former two-division titlist, Gonzalez (54-8, 46 KOs) is a serious power-puncher, who is coming off two straight wins, including a knockout over Akihiko Katagiri. He previously held the same WBC belt that Mares possesses, having lost it to Ponce De Leon three fights ago.
In the co-featured bout, Leo Santa Cruz (24-0-1, 14 KOs) will challenge WBC junior featherweight titlist Victor Terrazas (37-2-1, 21 KOs), in the opening bout of the Showtime Championship Boxing telecast.
“I feel very happy and motivated to get the opportunity to become a world champion again. I always wanted to be a world champion in multiple weight classes that fans would remember and always follow. It’s an honor to fight for the WBC title. It was always one of my dreams,” said Santa Cruz. “I’m training very hard because I know this is going to be a dangerous fight. I’m fighting a very tough guy who likes to keep the pressure on.”
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