Abner Mares is a three time world champion and speaks from experience when it comes to boxing; yet what most don’t realize is that his boxing experience is shaped from the lessons he learned in life.
Driven: Abner Mares
He has a record of 29-1-1 with 15 KOs. After losing the WBC World Featherweight title to Jhonny Gonzalez a year ago, Abner is on a current three fight win streak and steps into the ring tomorrow night in the Staples Center against rising star Leo Santa Cruz. Many are calling this the fight of the year, with the buzz and hype surrounding it growing steadily. But the fight has significance in more ways than one.
After running the streets with the gang scene in California, Mares moved to Mexico to get away from the streets and ended up entering the boxing ring. With the guidance and support of family, Abner quickly shed the negative influences that had surrounded him and turned his attention to more important things- family, boxing and life. The effects of that decision put him on the right path to where he’s added his name to the long list of talented Mexican fighters and to tomorrow’s WBA Super Featherweight title match against Santa Cruz.
This promises to be an incredible fight and you get the feeling that this might be the culmination of a struggle for recognition that Abner has been fighting for his entire life. “It’s here. I’m ready to put it to work. I’m going to do what I know how to do, which is fight and give it my all.” said Mares at the press conference yesterday in LA. “My loss is completely forgotten. In life you have obstacles, especially in this sport. I’m over it. I’m back. This is where I want to be. When I fight guys the level of Leo Santa Cruz it brings the best out of me.
“It’s time. It’s time to give everybody a “Fight of the Year”. There’s no doubt. I’m going to go in there and have fun.”
With that, you know that this is not the culmination, rather another step in the life of a man continuing to grow to be better than he was before.
That’s why he’s Driven.