Schaefer shuts down Mares vs. Santa Cruz… For now!
As a fan, you can’t help but wonder what will happen when Golden Boy Promotions decides to put their up-and-comer Leo Santa Cruz against their break-out star Abner Mares.
For now however, fans will have to settle for the two unbeaten fighters on the same card in seperate bouts.
During a recent conference call to promote their fights this Saturday night at the Stub Hub center in Carson Ca. Golden Boy CEO Richard Schafer quickly shut down the idea of a potential match-up… at least for now.
“Well, I really don’t want to talk about it” stated Schaefer “I think it’s totally premature to discuss a potential fight between Abner and Leo. Let’s see what happens August the 24th. I think both fighters should have maybe a couple or so title defenses and then we’ll see, assuming everything goes well”
Richard Schaefer:
Well, I really don’t want to talk about it, because, first of all, you have Leo Santa Cruz in a very, very difficult fight challenging for the world title, so I know that he has his work cut out for him. I know that Victor Terrazas is going to do whatever he can to defend his title. He waited all his life to get that title, so this is going to be one of those toe-to-toe fights and it’s going to be a great battle.
So the same goes for Jhonny González. Jhonny González was world champion. He was mentally, physically not all there when he fought Ponce de León, he lost the title, and ever since that night he and his promoter have been waiting for a potential opportunity at the world title again and here with Abner Mares he gets it. So he is going to be wanting that title back and Abner is going to want to show why he is pound-for-pound one of the best.
So I think it’s totally premature to discuss a potential fight between Abner and Leo. Let’s see what happens August the 24th. I think both fighters should have maybe a couple or so title defenses and then we’ll see, assuming everything goes well. But let’s do first things first. In boxing people have that thing always like you do one great fight and before it’s over people already talk about the next one. Let’s enjoy what we have. Let’s enjoy, let’s kick back, and this is what that night, August the 24th is, it’s about enjoying the sport of boxing. These are four Mexicans, these are four champions, and it’s going to be one night in Carson where we can sit back and enjoy as fight fans, as sports fans, because those four guys are going to do our sport proud. So let’s talk about that before we start talking about what’s next.
Mares vs. Gonzalez, a 12-round fight for Mares’ WBC Featherweight World Championship, will take place on Saturday, August 24 at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. The event is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, sponsored by Corona and AT&T and will be televised live on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® immediately following the series premiere of ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Canelo at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. Also featured will be a 12-round world championship showdown between WBC Super Bantamweight World Champion Victor Terrazas and former IBF Bantamweight World Champion Leo Santa Cruz. SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is available in Spanish using secondary audio programming (SAP). Mares vs. Gonzalez is presented in association with Promociones Del Pueblo. Preliminary fights will air on SHOWTIME EXTREME® (8 p.m. ET/PT)
Tickets priced at $150, $75, $50 and $25, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, are available now at AXS.com, by phone at 888-9-AXS-TIX (888-929-7849) and at StubHub Center Box Office (Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. PT to 6:00 p.m. PT). VIP Suites are available by calling 877-604-8777. For more information on group discounts or VIP packages, please call 877-234-8425.