By Norm Frauenheim–
LOS ANGELES – Leo Santa Cruz is always smiling.
Now more than ever.
Santa Cruz overcame some doubters and Abner Mares Saturday night, winning over nearly everyone but a judge in a majority decision for the WBA version of the featherweight title.
But there was more than just an acronym-sanctioned belt at stake. It was about turf, friendship and rivalry. It was about Los Angeles. It was about a couple of fighters who had once sparred, had moved down different career paths and came back together in a long-awaited confrontation.
It was personal. It was dramatic. It was a crowd pleaser. In the end, it belonged to Santa Cruz (31-0-1, 17 KOs) who in the middle rounds began to capitalize on a three-inch advantage in reach with a jab that forced Mares (29-2-1, 15 KOs) to back pedal out of victory and into defeat.
“I stayed outside with the jab,’’ Santa Cruz said. “We were able to take control.
“My dad told me that we could beat him by boxing. We want to be aggressive but tonight we had to box him too and that’s how we got it done.’’
Mares started fast, perhaps because of nervous energy or a sense that he couldn’t let Santa Cruz develop a rhythm that would allow him to use his long jab. With his early aggression, Mares led on the scorecards after two rounds.
“It was a close fight, but I thought I won the fight,’’ Mares said. “I thought I pulled it off.
“My plan was to box him, but I started out really fast. I felt good but my corner told me to box more, so I did that. It was a good fight.’’
At times, it also was hard to score. One card reflected that. Respected Max Deluca scored it a draw, 114-114. Jesse Reyes and Steve Morrow had it 117-111, each for Santa Cruz. Deluca’s card opens the door for a rematch.
“If he wants the rematch I’ll give him the rematch,’’ Santa Cruz said. “I want to fight the best. I want the big fights.”
It’s no surprise that Mares is interested in a sequel.
“I’m more than willing to have a rematch,’’ he said. “It was a close fight. I knew he had never faced a fighter like me and he proved today he’s a great fighter.”
The bout, an epic LA showdown, began with sound. Then, fury. The crowd of 13,109 roared when Mares appeared on the PBC stage with a black bandana covering his lower face and a red bandanna on his left arm. He wore trunks that said “This Is My Town’’ and looked like a man determined to prove exactly that.
Then, it was Santa Cruz’ turn. He stepped off the same stage and walked toward the ring with a smile impossible to hide.
Through the first three to four rounds, Santa Cruz didn’t have much time to smile. Mares, bloodied at the top of his head in a butt during the third, repeatedly rushed him, trying to draw him into a withering inside battle, By the fifth, however Santa Cruz’ smile was more evident than ever, mostly because he knew his jab was beginning to work.
In the end, there was only that smile. His smile.
His town, too.
Best Of The Undercard
Mexican super-bantamweight Julio Cesar Ceja was down on the canvas. Down on the scorecards, too. But he celebrated in the end.
Ceja (29-1, 27 KOs) was on the brink of defeat when he unleashed a lethal left that leveled fellow Mexican Hugo Ruiz (35-3, 30 KOs) in the fifth round of a 122-pound bout for the WBC’s interim version of the title.
Somehow, Ruiz, who floored Ceja in the third, got up. But it didn’t take long to see that he was badly hurt. Referee ended Raul Caiz ended at 2:34 of the round.
The Rest
Lightweight Alejandro Luna (19-0, 14 KOs) stayed unbeaten and near the front of the line for a title shot by overwhelming Sergio Lopez (18-10, 12 KOs) in a bout stopped at 34 seconds of the fourth by Lou Moret.
Former junior-middleweight contender Alfredo Angulo (24-5, 20 KOs) put a buzz into the Staples crowd with a performance that has made him popular. He spilled blood, most of it belonging to Hector Munoz, an Albuquerque fighter who was finished after five rounds of a scheduled 10 at super-middleweight.. Angulo, 2-1 since a 2014 loss to Canelo Alvarez, battered Munoz (22-16-1, 14 KOs), 4-16 over his last 20 fights, from start to finish, from pillar to post.
Welterweight Jessie Roman (20-2, 10 KOs) knocked around fellow Californian Hector Serrano (17-5, 5 KOs) for six rounds, knocked him down in the seventh and was declared a unanimous decision winner after eight.
A foul-filled fight ended appropriately: In a disqualification. Middleweight Jonathan Batista (14-7, 7KOs) of the Dominican Republic threw low blows at Argentine Brian Castano (13-0, 9 KOs) until the referee wouldn’t let him throw another one. In the fifth, he threw his last one in fight that ened in a DQ at 5:15 of the round.
Buenos Aires middleweight Alan Castano (9-0, 6 KOs) overwhelmed Thomas Howard (8-5, 4 KOs) of Trenton, Mich., with power and punches, prompting a stoppage referee Pat Russell at 4:11 of the fourth round.
Los Angeles junior-welterweight Anthony Flores (9-0, 5 KOs) threw punches at what sometimes looked to be an uninterrupted rate, out-working and out-scoring Curtis Morton (3-5-3) of New York for majority decision.
Super-middleweight Paul Mendez (20-2-2, 10 KOs) of Delano, Calif., had an easy afternoon of work, forcing Mexican Andrik Saralegui (19-3, 15 KOs) to quit after two rounds.
Bantamweight Isaiah Najera (1-1) of Yakima, Wash., got roacked early, yet celebrated in the end with a four-round majority decision that spoiled Antonio Santa Cruz’ debut.
In an empty arena, Los Angeles junior-featherweight Jose Gomez (3-0) opened the show with a matinee bout, scoring a unanimous decision over Mexican Manuel Rubalcava, who might have trouble getting licensed the next time he applies. He’s 2-14.
