Mares, Moreno, Santa Cruz and Angulo speak!
On Saturday night WBC Super Bantamweight champion Abner Mares successfully defended his crown against a tough Anselmo Moreno. The two fought twelve grueling rounds with Mares coming out on top by unanimous decision.
Mares:
“It was a great fight, a tough fight. It was a fight that I expected to be tough and I did what I had to do. [Moreno] can take a punch and he has a great heart”
“I fought my heart off and like I told you guys, I leave everything in the ring and I’m ready to move on.”
“Moreno, trying to box me and move a lot, that’s his style and he tried to do that but thankfully we stuck to our plan, we pressured him, we made him feel uncomfortable and we worked that body”
“A couple of times I got frustrated like I knew I would but I got a great corner that always kept me poised. They told me to stay calm and don’t lose my head and luckily I didn’t”
“He never hurt me. I never felt his punch. I did feel the punches but didn’t feel the power. I wanted him to get comfortable and go inside, that was my plan. He did sometimes and I got the best of him because he lost control in there and wanted to slug it out and that’s not his fight”
Mares on fighting Nonito Donair next:
“I think I made it clear already. Everybody knows I want that fight and I’m sure Nonito has made it clear that he wants the fight. There’s no doubt we want this fight. Hopefully Bob Arum comes to his senses and makes this offer for the sake of boxing.”
“There’s no other fight I want to talk about other than the Donaire fight. That’s the only fight that should be made and talked about now. There’s no other fight for me, I’ve already fought the best, everyone.”
Anselmo Moreno:
“The work that I did was not enough and I except my defeat. I learned that I need to work even harder. It was a great experience and I will take care of that and work harder for the next one.”
“It was very complicated, he complicated my style. I really fell into his game instead of staying with mine.”
“The champion did his work and fought his fight. He was on top of me all the time and I couldn’t get off. He did a great job and he beat me. We must recognize that he was better than me. I tried to put him off but all the time he was on top of me and I didn’t have an answer. He is a great champion and we need to recognize that”
In the co-feature, IBF Bantamweight champion Leo Santa Cruz stopped a rugged and game Victor Zaleta in the ninth round to retain his title. Before the fight Santa Cruz stated that he would like to face the winner of Mares vs. Moreno. Mares stated, after his fight that a fight with Santa Cruz would be a step backwards.
Santa Cruz:
[Zaleta] surprised me, I thought it was going to e easier but he came out strong. I hit him with body shots good and every time he came out stronger but we worked hard in the gym and little by little we took him down”
Santa Cruz on Mares calling him a step backwards:
“If he thinks that, it’s because he has a fear of me, a little bit. I don’t think it’s a step back. I think I could give him a good fight and if he doesn’t want to fight me, I’ll work to being his mandatory.
On the undercard, Alfredo Angulo made his comeback and stopped Raul Casarez in devastating fashion, landing a vicious left hook that rendered Casarez unable to continue.
Angulo:
“Certainly I didnt think [it would bo over so quick]. I thought it would go 5 or 6 rounds but it was very fast which is better. It suprised me because he is a very good fighter with heart and he hadn’t lost in 11 fights”
“I always train hard and I don’t look for the knockout, if it comes, it’s natural but I’m ready to go the entire fight”
Angulo on a rematch with James Kirkland:
“I don’t care. I’ll fight anybody. For the rematch with Kirkland, we can fight tomorrow. Now I have a really good team. Everything is good right now and we could fight anybody.”