Why Santa Cruz-Mares Deserves An Encore

The highly anticipated clash on August 29th at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA between current WBC Jr. Featherweight world champion Leo Santa Cruz and former three-division world champion Abner Mares certainly lived up to the anticipation that preceded it. In one corner stood Leo Santa Cruz a fighter who was undefeated in thirty-one professional fights who was fighting for the second time in the 126lb. Featherweight division. Standing across the ring from Santa Cruz was Abner Mares a fighter who had only been defeated once in thirty-one career bouts of his own prior to this fight.

Stylistically this was a fight that had action written all over it. Both fighters are boxer/punchers, who are both capable of ending fights early and both have the ability to out box their opposition. The question this observer had prior to this fight was whether the 5’4 Mares, who has a sixty-six inch reach would be able to get on the inside of the 5’7 Santa Cruz, who had a three inch reach advantage for extended periods of time. I also wondered whether this will be a tactical Boxing match or if it would develop into a shootout.

It was no surprise given that this was a battle between two offensive-minded fighters to see this fight fought at a high pace from the outset with both fighters being willing to engage. In some ways, one could make an argument that it was a bout where two different types of fights took place in one fight. Mares had a clear advantage during periods where he was able to close distance between himself and Santa Cruz and get on the inside. During those periods although there were several exchanges between the two fighters it appeared that Mares was able to get the better of the action.

In contrast to Mares, Santa Cruz appeared to be most effective during periods where he was able to control distance and thus nullify Mares’ pressure. Santa Cruz was also effective in being able to catch Mares with his offense as Mares came forward as the fight progressed.

Although Mares was the more aggressive of the two fighters throughout much of this fight, one thing that was noticeably absent was the use of his jab as he came forward. As the fight progressed Santa Cruz was able to stand out a little more from Mares by being effective with his counter punches, being able to control the distance of the fight more, and landing the more effective punches of the two.

When it comes to fights that are fought at a high pace where both fighters are able to execute their offense, it can often boil down to which fighter was able to be more effective. Although the task of determining who is able to be more effective may appear to be one that is simple to some, it can be and often is an extremely difficult task especially for judges who have the responsibility of scoring a fight. Such fights are often close and end up with differing scores from the official judges, fans, and experts alike.

After twelve hard-fought rounds it was not surprising to see this fight end up with differing opinions. Two official judges Jesse Reyes and Steve Morrow turned in identical scores of 117-111 or nine rounds to three in favor of Santa Cruz giving him a twelve round majority decision victory. Although the two official scores which resulted in Santa Cruz winning this fight may appear to be lopsided, if one watches the fight round by round as the official judges who score fights on a round by round basis, it is much closer.

It is certainly understandable that fans and experts alike could have this fight scored much closer as the third official judge Max DeLuca had scored the fight 114-114 or six rounds to six a draw or how some could see Mares as the winner by differing scores that may not be unlike the scores of judges Reyes and Morrow. 

Unofficially, I scored this fight 116-112 or eight rounds to four in favor of Santa Cruz. In this observer’s eyes it came down to how Santa Cruz was able to gradually control distance and land the cleaner more effective punches as the fight progressed, particularly in the middle and late rounds. It was however, a very difficult fight to score and frankly I can see an argument for either fighter having won the fight.

The fight, which was to determine a new WBA Featherweight world champion following former champion Nicholas Walters being stripped of the title for failing to make weight prior to his fight with Miguel Marriaga in June of this year turned out to be a fight of the year candidate. For Leo Santa Cruz now an unbeaten two-division world champion and a former three-division world champion in Abner Mares the battle solidified their standing as a rising stars in the sport. If the action this fight produced as well as the significant television ratings for the fight, which headlined a Premier Boxing Champions card on ESPN in the United States averaging 1.2 million viewers is any indication Santa Cruz-Mares is certainly deserving of an encore.

Whether or not a rematch between the two comes in the immediate future remains to be seen. For the increasingly popular Premier Boxing Champions series, which airs across several networks across broadcast and cable television this was essentially the type fight that the series is all about. To bring Boxing to the masses and put on the best fights possible for Boxing fans. If a rematch between Santa Cruz and Mares is signed, it would not surprise this observer to see it headline a future Premier Boxing Champions card.

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.

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Mosley KO’s Mayorga For The Second Time

The rematch between former world champions Shane Mosley and Ricardo Mayorga faced obstacles before the two fighters could even enter the ring. It faced a legal challenge from Mayorga’s longtime promoter Don King who sought an injunction to prevent the fight for taking place. The fight also faced competition in the form of the Leo Santa Cruz-Abner Mares bout, which took place on the same night, at the same time, and at a nearby venue from where Mosley and Mayorga were to do battle.

Mosley and Mayorga however, would overcome the objection of King in the week leading up to the fight so the bout could take place as scheduled on Saturday night at The Forum in Inglewood, CA. The first fight between the two in September 2008 was a highly competitive bout from start to finish. Mosley was victorious in that fight stopping Mayorga in dramatic fashion with just one second remaining in the fight.

In the near seven years since that battle however, an argument could be made that both fighters have declined with each suffering losses and having gone through stretches of inactivity. One may have been justified to wonder what the forty-three year old Mosley and the forty-one year old Mayorga had left to give as fighters at this stage in their respective careers.

Prior to this bout, this observer stated that the question I had going into this fight was what versions of the fighters would show up. Mosley at his best is a fighter who uses a good mix of hand speed and punching power, who also has the ability to execute his offense in spurts of combinations. While not being the most technically sound fighter, Mayorga is a fighter who is always dangerous and has an unorthodox brawling style.

A storyline of two former world champions turning their attention to each other one more time, each looking to resurrect their careers is one that can produce a memorable fight. With the legal struggles behind them, with a competing event nearby, and with questions regarding what each fighter had left to give, it was time for Mosley and Mayorga to enter the ring and do battle.

It was a bit surprising to see Mayorga, who had boldly predicted a first round knockout begin this fight being tentative. It was not surprising however, to see Mosley have success almost immediately in establishing his jab and finding a home for his right hand. Mosley, who was fighting for the first time in nearly two years clearly still had his hand speed.

Mosley continued to dictate how the fight was being fought as the rounds went on and was able to land his right hand seemingly whenever he wanted. Mayorga attempted to get under Mosley’s skin by taunting him and dropping his hands presenting Mosley with an open target. Despite the familiar tactic that Mayorga has used periodically throughout his career, it did not succeed in getting Mosley out of his fight plan.

As the fight entered the fourth round Mosley was able to have success in landing to Mayorga’s body. Although Mayorga would occasionally attempt to rush Mosley with offense, he was unable to land effectively. The primary difference in this fight was Mosley’s ability to dictate the pace, execute his offense in combination, and generally make Mayorga miss with the majority of his offense.

Mosley was able to open a cut over the right eye of Mayorga in round five with a jab. The end would come in round six when Mosley was able to connect with a left hook to the liver of Mayorga in the closing seconds of the round. Although Mayorga complained that he had been hit by a low blow, Referee Raul Caiz, Jr. counted Mayorga out. Official time of the stoppage was 2:59 of round six.

Shane Mosley advances to 48-9-1, with 40 Knockouts. Ricardo Mayorga falls to 31-9-1, with 25 Knockouts.

Also on this card, in a bout for the IBF Women’s World Jr. Featherweight championship Yulihan Luna fought to a hard fought ten round split decision draw with International Female Boxing Association Jr. Featherweight (IFBA) world champion Maureen Shea.   This was an extremely close fight that saw plenty of exchanges between the two fighters. Shea seemed to dictate the pace of the fight in the early rounds by consistently pressing the action and attempting to cut the ring off from Luna.  Luna meanwhile attempted to play the role of counter puncher through much of the first half of the fight.

Both fighters were able to have periods of effectiveness throughout the fight.  As this observer has stated numerous times over the years when it comes to close fights where each fighter is able to be effective and there isn’t much to separate one fighter from the other it will often boil down to what a judge prefers based on clean punching, effective aggressiveness, ring generalship, and defense. 

In this fight I thought Shea was able to get the better of the action particularly when she was able to push Luna back, close distance, and get on the inside. Luna meanwhile, was most effective during periods where she was able to use her movement to offset Shea’s pressure and use her jab and get her punches off first. 

It was not surprising in the eyes of this observer to see a close decision at the end of what was a very competitive fight. As tends to be the case in close fights, it was also not surprising to see differing scores among the three official judges.  Judge Steven Hicks scored the fight 97-93 in favor of Luna, Judge Michael Tate scored the fight 98-92 in favor of Shea. The third and deciding Judge David Mendoza scored the fight even 95-95 resulting in a split decision draw.

Unofficially, I scored this fight 96-94 in favor of Maureen Shea.  This was a very difficult fight to score and it is understandable how one could see an argument in favor of either fighter. The way Shea was able to dictate the action in the first half of the fight is what gave her the edge on my scorecard, but there really wasn’t much to separate the two fighters.

Yulihan Luna advances to 12-2-1, with 1 Knockout. Maureen Shea advances to 24-2-1, with 12 Knockouts. 

This fight was the first Women’s world championship fight to be featured prominently on a pay-per-view Boxing card in the United States in more than a decade.  It is my hope that the spotlight of the sport is focused on Women’s Boxing more in the future.  These two fighters gave it everything they had in what was an entertaining contest and it would not surprise me to see a rematch between the two, possibly on a future Shane Mosley promoted card. If a rematch is signed this observer hopes it will be broadcast on television.

In a Lightweight bout Joel Diaz Jr. scored a fourth round stoppage of a very “Game” Luis Arceo.  Diaz generally got the better of the action in this fight opening up cuts over both of Arceo’s eyes and dropped Arceo with a one, two combination midway through the fourth round. Although a bloody Arceo was able to beat the count, the fight was stopped by Referee David Denkin.  Official time of the stoppage was 1:27 of round four.

Joel Diaz Jr. advances to 20-0, with 16 Knockouts. Luis Arceo falls to 28-14-4, with 18 Knockouts.

It will be interesting to see where Diaz goes from here in the Lightweight division.  A challenge that can be present for a young prospect as they move up the ranks is to see how they respond to a fighter who provides them with some resistance. Luis Arceo more than showed his mettle in this fight and did provide some resistance for Diaz.  We will see what the future holds for Diaz as he continues his climb up the Lightweight division.

In non-televised action in a Cruiserweight bout Dimar Ortuz, who fans of BKB: Big-Knockout Boxing might recognize fought to an eight round split decision draw with Victor Barragan.  Official scores were 76-74 in favor or each fighter on two scorecards, while the third scorecard was scored even resulting in the draw 75-75.  Dimar Ortuz advances to 10-0-2, with 7 Knockouts. (Traditional Boxing Record)  Victor Barragan advances to 12-8-1, with 3 Knockouts.

In a Super-Middleweight bout Ronald Ellis scored a second round stoppage over Jas Phipps. Official time of the stoppage was 1:15 of round two.  Ronald Ellis advances to 12-0, with 10 Knockouts.  Jas Phipps falls to 5-6-2, with 2 Knockouts.

Although the rematch between Shane Mosley and Ricardo Mayorga did not resemble their closely fought first encounter, it did provide Boxing fans entertainment even though Mosley was able to dominate much of the fight. The only similarity of course between the first fight and the rematch was that Mosley stopped Mayorga with one second remaining in the sixth round.

As for Shane Mosley, I believe the most important thing will be whether or not he can stay active. If Mosley can remain active and more importantly continue to win, it will be interesting to see whether or not he will be able to move himself back into title contention. It will also be interesting to see what the future holds for Ricardo Mayorga going forward. Mayorga has always been an entertaining fighter win or lose, but one has to wonder what may be left for him at this stage in his career coming off of another setback.

The struggles this card faced ultimately did not prevent the rematch between Shane Mosley and Ricardo Mayorga from coming to fruition. Although it will be interesting to see how the pay-per-view numbers in the United States and Canada compare to the ratings for the ESPN televised Premier Boxing Champions card headlined by Leo Santa Cruz and Abner Mares, this observer believes considering all the obstacles that were present for a time for Mosley-Mayorga II the card, which was promoted by Shane Mosley’s GoBox Promotions should be considered a success.

We will see what the future holds for both Shane Mosley the fighter and the promoter.

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison

Mosley-Mayorga II Weigh-In Results

Former world champions Shane Mosley and Ricardo Mayorga officially weighed in for their rematch on Friday at Venice Beach in California.  The official weigh-in results are as follows.

Main Event: Super-Middleweights – 12 Rds.

Shane Mosley (47-9-1, with 39 Knockouts) – 159lbs.  vs.     Ricardo Mayorga (31-8-1, with 25 Knockouts) – 165lbs. *

(*Mayorga was seven pounds over the original contracted weight of 158lbs. According to several media outlets including Fightnews.com Mayorga will forfeit  a $50,000 bonus he would have received for making the agreed contracted weight. It was questionable as to whether Mayorga, who weighed in at 173lbs. for his last fight against Andrik Saralegui last December and 172lbs for his bout with Allen Medina in September of last year would have been able to make the 158lb. contracted catch-weight since he has not fought below 160lbs.  since his fight with Miguel Cotto in March 2011.) 

The official weigh in for this fight took place in private. Both fighters then participated in a mock weigh-in for the public on Venice Beach.

Lightweights – 10Rds.

Joel Diaz Jr. (19-0, with 15 Knockouts) – 134lbs.  vs.                       Luis Arceo (28-13-4, with 18 Knockouts) – 134lbs.

IBF Women’s World Jr. Featherweight championship – 10 Rds.

Yulihan Luna (Champion) (12-2, with 1 Knockout) – 121lbs. vs.       Maureen Shea (24-2, with 12 Knockouts) (Challenger)  – 120lbs.

A six round Super-Middeweight bout between Ronald Ellis 11-0, 9 Knockouts and Jas Phipps 5-5-2, 2 Knockouts is also scheduled to take place on this card. Weights for that bout however, are unavailable as of this writing.

Mosley-Mayorga II takes place tonight at The Forum in Inglewood, CA and is available on a cable/satellite pay-per-view basis in the United States and Canada for $49.95. Contact your local pay-per-view provider for ordering information.  The card will be available in the UK and Ireland on BoxNation. Check local listings.

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.

  

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison

Mosley-Mayorga II Preview

When former world champions Shane Mosley and Ricardo Mayorga entered the ring to do battle in September 2008 both fighters were looking to position themselves for a potential world title shot in either the Welterweight or Jr. Middleweight division. In what was a competitive and close fight from start to finish both fighters were able to have periods of effectiveness. It was Mosley however, who was able to score a dramatic knockout in the final second of the final round to win the fight. Mosley would go on to defeat Antonio Margarito for the WBA Welterweight world championship in January 2009.

Mosley’s victories over Mayorga and Margarito solidified his status as a future Hall of Famer in the sport. Following his victory over Margarito however, Mosley would begin to see what some may argue was a gradual decline in his career. Mosley would go on to lose to the likes of Floyd Mayweather, Saul Alvarez, and Manny Pacquiao. In between those fights Mosley earned a draw against former WBC Jr. Middleweight world champion Sergio Mora and a victory against longtime contender Pablo Cesar Cano in May 2013.

In his last fight in November 2013 Mosley would suffer the first knockout loss of his career when he was stopped in seven rounds by former world champion Anthony Mundine in Sydney, Australia as the fight was stopped due to an injury to the lower back of Mosley. Some readers may recall my coverage of that fight in saying that it was my opinion that the loss to Mundine appeared to be the end of a great career for a fighter who has won five world championships in three different weight classes. Mosley would announce his retirement one week following his fight with Mundine.

The forty-three year old Mosley will return to the ring on Saturday night August 29th at The Forum in Inglewood, CA. Mosley’s opponent for his first fight in nearly two years will come in the form of a fighter whom Mosley knows all too well. Former two-division world champion Ricardo Mayorga.

Following his loss to Mosley in September 2008, Mayorga would score a ninth round stoppage of Michael Walker in December 2010. This would lead Mayorga to his battle with then WBA Jr. Middleweight world champion Miguel Cotto in March 2011. The always “Game” Mayorga was stopped by Cotto in the final round of what was an entertaining fight. Following the loss to Cotto, Mayorga opted to walk away from the sport of Boxing to try his hand at the sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA).

After four fights as an MMA fighter in which Mayorga compiled a record of 0-3, with 1 no contest, Mayorga returned to Boxing in September of last year stopping an over matched journeyman named Allen Medina in just sixty-three seconds of the first round. Mayorga would score a second victory in his comeback in scoring a fifth round knockout of Andeik Saralegui in December of last year. Although Mayorga has scored two victories in his comeback thus far, it is important to note that the combined record of his two opponents was 16-24-1, with 7 Knockouts.

Even though Mayorga’s recent opposition can best be described as lightly regarded, it is important for fighters who are attempting to come back after a significant absence from the sport to be active and hopefully get some wins under their belt before taking on higher level opposition.

The rematch between the two however, was nearly halted by Mayorga’s longtime promoter Don King, who attempted to stop the fight from happening by seeking an injunction against Mosley in court. Mosley, who is also promoting the card headlined by himself and Mayorga however, was successful in getting the go-ahead for this fight to take place as scheduled.

The legal battle between Mosley and King has for the moment been put aside as Mosley turns his attention to his battle with Mayorga. The two fighters, who have a strong dislike for one another got into a well-publicized scuffle at the final pre-fight press conference earlier this week. Whether the scuffle was a result of legitimate bad blood between the two or something that was meant to help promote the fight is a subject for debate.

The question that I have going into this fight is what versions of the two fighters will show up. At his best Shane Mosley is a fighter who has a good mix of hand speed, punching power, and the ability to execute his offense in combination. Mayorga meanwhile, has only one objective and that is to turn his fights into an all-out war. The forty-one year old Mayorga has never been the most technically sound fighter, but he is always dangerous due to his unorthodox brawling style which has caused many an opponent difficulty throughout his career including Mosley.

An argument can be made that the winner of this fight will likely move on in their comeback, while the loser will likely be sent back into retirement. Perhaps the more intriguing question however, will not be who wins this fight, but rather how well this card does both in terms of attendance as well as on television.

The fight, which will headline a pay-per-view broadcast will face competition as it will go head-to-head against a card televised by ESPN, which is taking place at the nearby Staples Center headlined by a Featherweight bout between former world champions Leo Santa Cruz and Abner Mares as part of the popular Premier Boxing Champions series. Although we live in an age where there are digital video recorders and other advances in technology, it is logical to assume that Mosley, who is promoting the card under his promotional company Sugar Shane Mosley Promotions could face an uphill battle.

Although some might say that both Mosley and Mayorga are past their peak at this stage in their respective careers, the rematch is nevertheless an interesting fight between two fighters who have been more than willing to take on all comers throughout their careers. Whether or not the rematch will resemble anything like the first encounter remains to be seen. After a legal battle that threatened the fight, and a scuffle at the final pre-fight press conference, this observer hopes that the end result will be what Boxing fans love to see. A great fight between two fighters who are attempting to resurrect their careers one more time.

“And That’s The Boxing Truth.”

Mosley-Mayorga II takes place Saturday, August 29th at The Forum in Inglewood, CA. The card will be televised on a cable/satellite pay-per-view basis in the United States and Canada for $49.95. Contact your local pay-per-view provider for ordering information. The card will be available in the UK and Ireland on BoxNation. Check local listings.

The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.

Follow Beau Denison on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison