Santa Cruz-Mares
Leo Santa Cruz and Abner Mares kept the California crowd on their feet throughout their relentless war at the Staples Center, Los Angeles. In what was arguably the best PBC headliner, and overall card, both American-Mexicans put in warrior performances that won’t be forgotten anytime soon. They threw a staggering combined total of 2037 punches, which averages 170 per round. Yes, this fight had action a plenty.
Abner Mares shocked everyone, including his opponent, by charging Santa Cruz immediately following the opening bell. Mares continued with his brazen strategy for four rounds, smothering, bullying, until Santa Cruz finally had no choice but to start adapting. Santa Cruz was now in a pivotal fight, and his unbeaten record was starting to look in jeopardy.
But then the tide changed. Santa Cruz showed he had the brains to go along with his all-offense reputation, and began both counter-thinking and punching. It paid off. Santa Cruz was the man landing the cleaner, ‘buzzing’ shots, and when the final bell rang, most of us knew whose hand would be raised. Santa Cruz won a Majority Decision via scores of 117-111 (twice) and a forgivable but more questionable 114-114. This was an exceptional fight, and will be remembered as one of the best of 2015.
Santa Cruz, 27, moves to 31-0-1, 17 KO, while Mares, 29, drops to 29-2-1, 15 KO. See Santa Cruz-Mares Video Highlights.
Santa Cruz-Mares Undercard
On the undercard, the action at the Staples Center, LA, didn’t fail to captivate either. Alfredo Angulo’s (24-5, 20 KO) halcyon days seem far behind him, and he probably won’t perform at world level again. But it didn’t stop the balls-the-wall, all-action slinger from drawing cheers as he pressured Hector Munoz (23-16-1, 15 KO) en route to a 5th round stoppage. Munoz is a journeyman, sure, but it was nice to see Angulo get back to winning ways, nonetheless. Especially after that ugly beating from Alvarez that seems all so hard to forget.
But things did get more competitive from then on. Julio Ceja (30-1, 27 KO) picked himself up off the deck in the 3rd round to stop Hugo Ruiz (35-3, 31 KO) in their Featherweight meeting. At the time, Ceja was behind (40-35 on our card), and when Ceja landed a peach of a left-hook in the 5th, it was the beginning of a mightily impressive comeback. Ruiz was hurt and simply couldn’t weather the violent storm, forcing the referee to rightly step in.
Next, Alejandro Luna and Sergio Lopez turned in their own back-and-forth scrap, and certainly weren’t afraid to let their punches fly. Someone was bound to get caught by a fight-changing punch in this one, and it was Lopez (19-9-1, 13 KO) who found himself on the receiving end in the 4th round. Luna (19-0, 14 KO) put in the exclamation point victory by unloading a heavy barrage on a rope-bound Lopez, leaving the referee no choice but to end the Lightweight slugfest.
Mosley-Mayorga
Shane Mosley and Ricardo Mayorga produced a meaningless yet, well…sorta’ entertaining fight. Entertaining because more drama unfolded than in Mayweather-Pacquiao, and meaningless because the outcome made absolutely no difference to boxing. Nada. The PPV event, which was scheduled for 12 rounds, saw an ambitious, in-shape Mosley out-box an over-the-hill, flabby Mayorga.
Mosley scored the cleaner, scoring blows, while Mayorga clowned and goaded his foe – probably because Mayorga was often too slow to land actual leather. At times, Mayorga dropped his hands and took some of Mosley’s best power shots, only to remain standing. Which either means Mayorga still has a good chin, or Mosley’s power has diminished significantly. Whatever it is, Mayorga became a punchbag-with-attitude in those moments.
The whole thing almost went six rounds until Mosley finally wrapped it up. Mayorga took a knee at 2:59 following a liver shot, and couldn’t beat the referee’s count. It was hard to cheer or get too absorbed in this ‘oldies encounter’; not because it seemed like a real version of the movie ‘Grudge Match’, but because Mayorga in looked like a broke boxer with just enough drive to pick up a pay-check. Hang on, that does actually sound reminiscent of that Stallone-De Niro movie, doesn’t it?
Anyway, boxing has a history of turning in these end-of-the-road match-ups, and they’re often more heart-breaking than inspirational. Mosley, 43, now extends his veteran record to 48-9-1, 40 KO, while Mayorga, 41, falls to 31-9-1, 25 KO.
Mosley vs Mayorga Undercard
On the undercard, Yulihan Luna (12-2-1, 1 KO) and Maureen Shea (24-2-1, 12 KO) had to settle for a Split Draw. The 10-rounder was scored as 98-92, 97-93, and 95-95. It seemed like Shead possibly deserved the nod here, but all in all, there’s no need to grumble too much. This was a decent fight, and one that would have done wonders for women’s boxing.
Also, unbeaten prospect Joel Diaz (20-0, 16 KO) stopped an over-matched yet game Luis Arceo in four rounds. Arceo’s (28-14-4, 18 KO) face was rather ghastly, sporting an array of awful cuts when this thing was finally done and dusted. But this was at least an entertaining affair. Diaz probably ate a few too many punches against a fighter of Arceo’s calibre, but throwing caution to the wind seems to be his style. And no viewer craving fan-friendly boxers is about to start complaining.
Best of the Rest
At the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center, rising Heavyweight Trevor Bryan had his work cut out against Derric Rossy, a journeyman-type who actually put in one hell of a performance considering the odds. Rossy (30-10, 14 KO) survived a 1st round knockdown which occurred seconds after the opening bell, and gave his all until the final chime of the evening. Bryan (16-0, 11 KO) didn’t look overwhelming exactly, but did demonstrate a lot more ability than many other heavyweight prospects right now.
Bryan has power, and can certainly fight. Judges ringside scored the bout 97-92 and 98-91 (twice). It’s also worth knowing that this was an outdoor contest taking place under 100-degrees of heat – not including unmerciful stage lights, to boot. So props to both men for going the distance without passing out somewhere along the way.
On the undercard, Decarlo Perez (15-3-1, 5 KO) outpointed Juan Ubaldo Cabrera (23-1, 15 KO), picking up a Unanimous Decision after scores of 97-92, 98-91 and 97-92 were announced. Joey Dawejko (16-4-2, 9 KO) also clocked up a win, his proving far more brutal after pummelling opponent Natu Visinia (11-2, 9 KO) to a 1st round stoppage.
Did we miss something? For a more extensive overview of the weekend’s outcomes, see our complete Boxing Results.
Give us your take on Bryan-Derric, Santa Cruz-Mares, and, for what it’s worth, Mosley-Mayorga. Where do the victors go from here, and what of their performances?
The BoxingBase.com writing staff provide worldwide boxing news, coverage and analysis – they can be contacted via email and social media.
