By Ian S Palmer
Leo Santa Cruz will take on veteran Cristian Mijares at the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, March 8 as Santa Cruz will be attempting to defend his WBC Super Bantamweight Title against the former world champion. The unbeaten Santa Cruz of Durango, Mexico has a perfect record of 26-0-1 along with 15 Kos while Mijares will enter the bout with a mark of 49-7-2 with 24 Kos. The 12-round battle can be seen in the USA on the Showtime pay-per-view platform and it’s also available on pay-per-view in Canada.
The 25-year-old Santa Cruz of Teremoto, Mexico is one of boxing’s most exciting fighters at the moment as his style is fan friendly. He’ll be taking on a crafty veteran and former 115 lb. world champion in Mijares of Santa Cruz has been impressive since turning pro and is quickly gathering a large following. Mijares used to be considered one of the best pound-for-pound boxers on the planet several years ago, but most fans now consider him to be past his prime. Mijares lost a split decision to Victor Terrazas last year while Santa Cruz stopped Terrazas a couple of fights ago.
The last time out Santa Cruz took a decision win over Cesar Seda, but he didn’t appear to be at his best in that bout. Seda gave him all he could handle and pushed him to the limit. Santa Cruz needs n impressive bounce-back outing against the 32-year-old Mijares here to make sure his career stays on the right track. Mijares should prove to be a stiff test since he’s still relatively young and has tons of experience in big fights. He’s also got plenty of boxing skills, but may have slipped to a Grade B opponent at this stage in his career.
Santa Cruz has won titles in two different weight classes, but he has yet to meet the cream of the crop in his weight division. Some fans feel he’s taking baby steps during his career and while Mijares is a well-known name he’s still not the same boxer he was a few years ago. Santa Cruz is younger and faster than his opponent with quite a bit more energy. However, Mijares’ experience should see this fight be relatively competitive and there’s a good chance that it will go the distance.
Mijares southpaw stance and experience could give the champion Santa Cruz some problems and it may take him a few rounds to get some momentum going. Santa Cruz likes to employ an attacking style and doesn’t wait for his opponent to get off first. He will be looking to initiate the attack while Mijares will try to use his experience and box his way to a victory. This bout should go the distance with the younger and more energetic Santa Cruz taking a relatively close decision.
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