Abner Mares vs Miguel Flores Preview September 4th, 2022
Abner Mares, a former three weight-division world champion from Mexico, will be giving up his job as a commentator on Showtime to return to the ring for the first time since 2018. He takes on fellow countryman Miguel Flores in a 10-round featherweight bout on Sunday, September 4th. The fight is on the undercard of the Andy Ruiz vs Luis Ortiz clash and can be seen on Fox pay per view in America and the FITE network in the UK. Mares last fought in June, 2018 when he dropped a unanimous decision to then WBA Super World Featherweight Champion Leo Santa Cruz in a long awaited rematch when Mares was the WBA Featherweight Titleholder. They first met in August, 2015 with Santa Cruz winning a 12-round majority decision. Flores last fought in June, 2021 when he beat Diuhi Olguin by an eight-round split decision.
Mares vs Flores Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Miguel Flores +200
- Abner Mares -260
My Pick
The 36-year-old Mares enters the contest with a mark of 31-3-1 with 15 Ko’s. He was also out of action for 16 months between August of 2015 and December, 2016 due to failing his vision test and then retired after losing the rematch to Santa Cruz. Mares is just over 5-feet-5-inches tall with a 66-inch reach and has 274 rounds under his belt since turning pro in 2005. He enjoyed a fine amateur career before that while representing Mexico.
Mares, who now resides in California, reportedly went 112-8 as an amateur with 84 Ko’s. He captured the Under-17 World Championships and the bantamweight gold medal at the 2002 Central American Games and a silver at the 2003 Pan American Games. He also took silver at the 2004 Junior World Championships, fought at the 2004 Olympics and won gold at the 2002 World Cadet Championships.
He’s faced some tough opposition such as Santa Cruz, Jesus Cuellar, Vic Darchinyan, Jonathan Oquendo, Eric Morel, Anselmo Moreno, Jose Ramirez, Jhonny Gonzalez, Yonnhy Perez, Joseph Agbeko and Daniel Ponce De Leon. Othyer than losing twice to Santa Cruz on points, the only other man to beat Mares was Jhonny Gonzalez via a first-round stoppage in 2013. The lone draw on his record was a 12-round majority affair with Yonnhy Perez in 2010.
Mares won multiple world titles in three weight classes including the IBF Bantamweight Title from 2011 to 2012, the WBC Super Bantamweight Crown from 2012 to 2013, the WBC Featherweight Belt in 2013, and the WBA Featherweight Championship from 2016 to 2018. He’s an exciting boxer with good all-round skills, but lacks a little when it comes to power with a current knockout ratio of 42.9 percent.
The 30-year-old Flores fights out of Texas and enters the contest with a mark of 25-4 with 12 Ko’s and was stopped in three of his four losses. He was halted in the sixth round by Dat Nguyen in February, 2017 and stopped due to cuts in his next bout five months later against Chris Avalos. Flores had Avalos down third round but couldn’t finish him off. He was also halted by Eduardo Ramirez in the fifth round in December, 2020.
In addition, he dropped a unanimous decision to Leo Santa Cruz in a shot at the vacant WBA ‘super’ World Super Featherweight Title in November, 2019 in the fight before losing to Ramirez. Flores made his pro debut in 2009 after a short amateur career and has boxed 149 rounds since. He stands 5-feet-8-inches tall with a 69-inch reach so has a 2.5-inch height advantage over Mares as well as a three-inch edge in reach.
Flores possesses just average power in his fists at best with a current knockout ratio of 41.4 per cent. His biggest wins have been against Jose Luis Araiza, Carlos Padilla, Alfred Tetteh, Ruben Tamayo and Ryan Kielczweski. He’s taking another big step up in class against Mares and will need to match the ex-champion’s punch output to have any chance of pulling off an upset.
Prediction…
Flores has lost two of his last three fights and four of his last seven and doesn’t have much in the way of power and that’s probably the reason he’s been chosen to fight Mares in his comeback bout. Mares never shied away from a brawl in the past and was always a fan-friendly boxer to watch. He may have been stopped in the first round by Gonzalez, but Mares does own a solid chin. However, it’s hard to predict what affect a four-year layoff will have on the 36 year old. But if Mares still possesses the skills and determination he used to have then he should emerge with a victory here.
Mares’ comeback bout should end in victory.
Play: Mares -260 @ BetOnline.ag
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Abner Mares betting • Miguel Flores betting