Mares stakes claim to Donaire, tops Moreno

Mares stakes claim to Donaire, tops Moreno
Mark E. Ortega
Martinez News-Gazette
November 13, 2012

LOS ANGELES--Saturday night at Los Angeles' famed Staples Center, Abner Mares added another impressive name to his resume as he outpointed Panamanian slickster Anselmo Moreno over twelve rounds in their super bantamweight scrap.

The victory helps make a case for Mares being the most likely opponent to give San Leandro's Nonito Donaire his most difficult fight to date. Though Mares is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Donaire by Top Rank, some are optimistic the fight can now be made.



Mares' win didn't come without a bit of controversy. As was the case in his first fight with Joseph Agbeko last year, Mares fouled early and often against Moreno, hitting him low on several occasions as well as hitting him in the back more than once. Despite this, Mares was never docked a point and instead it was Moreno who would lose a point in round 11 for pushing down on Mares' head.

Mares no doubt controlled the early portion of the fight as his aggression and high punch output took Moreno off his game. Moreno is used to controlling the tempo of a fight and was forced to fight going backwards for much of the early goings, eventually tasting the canvas for the first time in his career following a sweeping right hand in the 5th.

Mares would eventually slow down at the midway point of the fight, allowing Moreno to finally fight at his preferred pace, and from that point on it was Moreno who was in control. Mares never stopped moving forward but didn't have the same sting on his punches and Moreno was able to move him around the ring and land well-timed counters.

Despite Moreno coming on late in the fight, it wasn't even close to enough on the official judges' scorecards. Judges Marty Denkin and David Sutherland agreed on a 116-110 score in favor of Mares, while James Jen-Kin astoundingly scored it a shutout for Mares, 120-106.

In the postfight press conference, Moreno and his team accepted defeat but Sampson Lewkowicz, Moreno's advisor, rightfully criticized Jen-Kin for his score, citing it as one of the things that hurts the sport and takes away from a great fight.

When Showtime's Jim Gray suggested to Mares that he possibly fight Leo Santa Cruz, who scored a 9th round TKO over Victor Zaleta in the co-feature in his bantamweight title defense, Mares called Santa Cruz a step back and said Mares is the only fight out there. Santa Cruz took that statement as a slight in the post-fight press conference, telling the media he plans to work himself into a mandatory position so that Mares can't duck his challenge.

Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaeffer said there are many ways they can try and negotiate the Donaire fight and they will explore any and all options in order to do that. Though Cuban standout Guillermo Rigondeaux looms in the background and will fight on the same card as Donaire in December, the fight fans want to see is between the two Californians whose careers have followed similar trajectories.

One only hopes it doesn't go the way of Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao and just becomes another fight that is talked about but never comes to fruition.

JAMES PAGE RETURNS 
As previously written up in the Martinez News-Gazette in September, 41-year old former WBA welterweight champion James Page is set to return to the ring after more than a decade away this Saturday at the Four Points by Sheraton in Natomas, Calif., though the opponent has changed since the time of that printing.

Page was initially slated to fight rugged journeyman Cleven Ishe, but a positive test in New York for an illegal substance ruled him out. Instead, Page will now fight Rahman Yusubov of Texas. Yusubov is a former oppponent of Bay Area native Karim Mayfield, who starched Yusubov when both fighters were still undefeated early in their careers.

Page also has sparred with junior middleweight contender Alfredo Angulo as of late, and Angulo scored a first-round TKO in the televised opener Saturday in his first fight since spending time in an immigration detention center for more than seven months. Angulo's trainer Virgil Hunter had positive things to say about Page in his sparring with Angulo.

“He's in better condition than a guy who has been taking shots all these years,” said Hunter of Page. “He can take a hell of a shot right now, and his stamina is there where he can go rounds.”

Hunter said that Page was sparring like he had something to prove.

“James Page doesn't have to prove nothing to nobody, he's got my respect. He's been there, done that. He's a tough, tough, tough man and anybody fighting him is gonna have a fight.”

Tickets are still available and can be purchased for $40, $60, and $75 at shop.oppboxing.com or at the door. A Harley Davidson show starts things off at 3PM with doors opening at 6PM and the first bell at 7PM.