By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten Abner Mares will be defending his WBC Super Bantamweight Championship against WBA Bantamweight titleholder Anselmo Moreno on Nov. 10 at the Staples Center in los Angeles. Mares is an exciting boxer who’s gained lots of fans over the past couple of years due to winning the bantamweight boxing tournament that was broadcast by the American Showtime network and a couple of more wins after that. Moreno is also a solid boxer and is well known by fans in South and Central America.
Moreno will be a handful for Mares as he’s won 11 title bouts while defending his belt over the past four years. Both fighters have a lot at stake in this match and the fans should be thoroughly entertained if they box to their potential on Saturday night. Mares will likely have most of the fan support at the Staples Center since he hails from Mexico and now fights out of California. Also, this will be Moreno’s first bout in the 122 lb. bantamweight division.
The winner of this fight will have several options for future bouts as the division is filled with several elite boxers such as Guillermo Rigondeaux, Jorge Arce, Nonito Donaire, and Leo Santa Cruz. The 26-year-old Mares has yet to be beaten since turning pro back in 2005 and carries a 24-0-1 record with him along with 13 KOs. He fought for Mexico at the 2004 Olympics and stands 5-feet-5-inches tall with a reach of 66 inches.
The 27-year-old Moreno, who hails from Panama, has an advantage in reach and height as he’s 5-foot-7 and has a 70-inch wingspan. He turned pro back in 2002 when he was just 16 years old and has been beaten just once with a record of 33-1-1 with 12 KOs. His only loss came back in 2003 when he was 17 and was on the wrong end of a four-round split decision.
Mares’ biggest bouts have been a draw against Yonnhy Perez and decision wins against Vic Darchinyan and Joseph Agbeko, whom he beat twice for the IBF Bantamweight crown. He moved up to the super bantamweight division this year and beat former world champion Eric Morel by a unanimous decision on April 21 to win the vacant WBC crown.
Moreno is a tough southpaw who won the WBA bantamweight belt back in 2008 with a 12-round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Volodymyr Sydorenko. He beat him again by a split decision the next year and also beat Darchinyan in one of his 10 defences. His last bout was a ninth-round KO over David De La Mora on April 21.
Both Mares and Moreno have decent power, but aren’t known as one-punch knockout artists. They rely on volume punching to score stoppages and that is often just as exciting for the fans. Mares has beaten some excellent boxers over the past couple of years, but hasn’t been able to halt any of his opponents and the decisions he’s earned have been very close and somewhat controversial. As for Moreno, four of his last nine wins have been by close split decisions too.
Prediction
Moreno is used to fighting on the road and has wins in America, Venezuela, France, and Germany, so he knows what it takes to win in hostile territory. It’s a hard fight to predict since both boxers may not have reached their peaks yet. They have the power to do some damage, but if their chins hold pout this bout will likely go the distance or result in a late stoppage. Both boxers want to prove they’re legitimate champions and this should turn into an exceptional bout with Mares hanging onto his title when it’s over.
