WBC SUPER BANTAMWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPION ABNER MARES TO DEFEND HIS TITLE AGAINST WBA BANTAMWEIGHT SUPER WORLD CHAMPION ANSELMO MORENO ON NOVEMBER 10 AT STAPLES CENTER IN LOS ANGELES
SHOWTIME® TELEVISED EVENT WILL ALSO FEATURE
IBF BANTAMWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPION LEO SANTA CRUZ & THE RETURN OF ALFREDO “EL PERRO” ANGULO AGAINST RAUL CASAREZ
LOS ANGELES, October 2 – Sporting a combined record of 57-1-2 with 25 knockouts with three world championships in two weight classes, WBC Super Bantamweight World Champion Abner Mares and former WBA Bantamweight Super Champion Anselmo “Chemito” Moreno prove that great fighters come in small packages. On Saturday, November 10 the fight true boxing fans have been waiting for is here, as Mares looks to defend his crown against a hungry Moreno who is stepping up in weight class in the SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING main event at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, Calif.
Also featured will be IBF Bantamweight World Champion Leo “Terremoto” Santa Cruz defending his title against opponent to be determined in a 12-round bout as well as Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo and Raul Casarez squaring off in a 12-round junior middleweight battle.
“I feel faster and stronger at 122 pounds and now that I’m used to this weight class, I’m going to be more dangerous than ever for anyone who steps in the ring with me,” said Mares. “I love this fight with Moreno. I’ve got a lot of respect for him, but I know I’ll get the win on November 10 with the help of my hometown fans in Los Angeles.”
“I’d like to thank Mares for taking this fight as this is the type of moment every fighter waits for and dreams about,” said Moreno. “I’m ready to show the world what I can do. I promise my fans that I will put on a great show like always and leave the ring with the belt.”
“You always hear boxers saying that they want to fight the best competition,” said Golden Boy Promotions President Oscar De La Hoya. “Mares and Moreno are not just talking the talk, they are walking the walk. These two are the best of the best and to see them in the ring together on November 10 is going to be a special night for the sport. We are continuing our promise to put on the best fight cards top to bottom and with Mares-Moreno, bantamweight champ Leo Santa Cruz defending his title and the highly anticipated return of Alfredo Angulo in a brawl against Raul Casarez, fans will be on their feet cheering all night long.”
“STAPLES Center is incredibly excited to host this much anticipated fight between Mares and Moreno,” Lee Zeidman, STAPLES Center General Manager. “Los Angeles is home to true boxing fans and this fight will definitely be one they will not want to miss.”
“This fall, with world-class championship fights from marquee venues around the country, we have assembled perhaps the strongest SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING run in our 25 year history,” said Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports. “With upcoming fights at the Barclay’s Center and Madison Square Garden, this telecast from STAPLES Center solidifies the network’s commitment to premiere boxing. Abner Mares has come of age on this network as he has consistently challenged himself against the toughest men in his division. November 10 will be no different, as Abner takes on one of the most skilled fighters in boxing, the current bantamweight world champion, Anselmo Moreno. I expect an explosive fight to cap off yet another big night of fights on SHOWTIME.”
“I’m looking forward to defending my title in front of my hometown fans,” said Santa Cruz. “It’s always very motivating to have my friends and family support me and I’m excited for November 10.”
“It’s very exciting to have my comeback fight in my second home of Los Angeles,” said Angulo. “I have been working really hard to give the fans a good show like they are used to because I am here thanks to their support. ‘El Perro’ is back!”
“This is the opportunity I have been looking for and I will train hard to make the best of it,” said Casarez.
Mares vs. Moreno is a 12-round battle for Mares’ WBC Super Bantamweight World Championship promoted by Golden Boy Promotions taking place on November 10 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles. The event is sponsored by Corona and AT&T and will be televised live on SHOWTIME.
Tickets priced at $200, $100, $50 and $25, not including applicable service charges and taxes, are on sale now and available for purchase at all Ticketmaster outlets, online at www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at (800) 745-3000 or at the STAPLES Center Box Office.
A representative of the 2004 Mexican Olympic team, Guadalajara native Abner Mares (24-0-1, 13 KO’s) now makes his home in the Los Angeles area in Hawaiian Gardens, where he has become one of the most popular fighters to emerge from the area in years. That’s no surprise given his affable personality, willingness to take on all comers and warrior-like style in the ring, but most important to his fans is the character he’s shown in navigating the ups and downs of life in the fight game. In 2010, he began to make his move on the big-time boxing scene with a hard-fought and controversial draw against Yonnhy Perez and an exciting win over Vic Darchniyan. However, it was his win over Joseph “King Kong” Agbeko for the IBF Bantamweight World Title in August of 2011 that made him a champion and catapulted him into the spotlight. After a successful defense against Agbeko in their December 2011 rematch, the 26-year-old Mares won his second divisional world title in April with a 12-round victory over former Two-Time World Champion Eric “Little Hands Of Steel” Morel that earned him the WBC Super Bantamweight World Championship belt. He now looks to defend against another tough customer in Moreno.
Fighting out of Panama City, Panama, 27-year-old Anselmo “Chemito” Moreno (33-1-1, 12 KO’s) had been one of boxing’s best kept secrets for years, but the man with the amazing 27-fight winning streak is unknown no longer thanks to his remarkable skill set and willingness to fight anyone. A professional since 2003, Moreno won the WBA Bantamweight World Championship title in May of 2008 with a 12-round decision win over Volodymyr Sydorenko. After that, eight successful defenses followed before Moreno made his United States debut with another defense of his crown, this one a lopsided 12 round unanimous decision win over former World Champion Vic Darchinyan. Firmly established as one of the best young champions in boxing, Moreno stopped David De La Mora in nine rounds on April 21, 2012. Now he will step up in weight to challenge Mares in one of the biggest fights of 2012.
Coming off of a career-defining win over Eric Morel on September 15 in which he handed the former world champion his first ever knockout loss, IBF Bantamweight World Champion Leo Santa Cruz (21-0-1, 12 KO’s) of Lincoln Heights, Calif. will jump right back into the ring on November 10 eager to keep the momentum going. Just 24 years old, “Teremoto” went from prospect to champion in 2012, when he stopped veteran Alejandro Hernandez in January and then won his first world title in June with a dominant win over Vusi Malinga. Now with the fifth round stoppage over Morel under his belt, the sky’s the limit for this young Mexican-American phenom.
A devastating puncher with a pressure-filled style that has broken down many of the junior middleweight division’s top contenders, Alfredo Angulo’s (20-2, 17 KO’s) only goal left is to win world championship gold. Originally from Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, but now fighting out of Los Angeles, Calif., the 30-year-old contender has been chomping at the bit to return to the ring for the first time since his candidate for “Fight of the Year” war with James Kirkland in 2011. With the immigration issues that kept him out of the ring since that fight cleared up, he is ready to return and prepared to show that he still has the exciting form that saw him finish Joachim Alcine, Gabriel Rosado, Harry Joe Yorgey and Joel Julio.
Nicknamed “El Tigre” for his ferocious attacking style in the ring, Edinburg, Texas’ Raul Casarez (19-2, 9 KO’s) is unbeaten since 2006, and on November 10 he has the opportunity he has been waiting his entire career for, to fight on SHOWTIME against a highly-rated contender. For the 25-year-old, a win over Angulo will not only extend his 11-fight unbeaten streak, which includes a March win over J.C. Candelo, but it will place him among the top contenders in the division and put him on the fast track to a world title shot.
As in September, I once again ran out of gas in the 10th & 11th championship rounds of October & November with this column, but I recovered to complete them and will unleash a few more flurries to close out the 12th and final round.
In the first week of October, Hassan N’Dam won a UD over Curtis Stevens in an eliminator for the right to challenge Jermaine Taylor who defeated aging Sam Soliman to regain the IBF Middleweight title. How Taylor even earned this title shot is another story altogether, but it is all irrelevant as he is now the champion. However he will not have too much time to savor his victory as he has assault and battery charges pending against him and an upcoming court fight that may turn out to be the toughest fight of his life, just when things started to look up for him in boxing, we wish him luck.
