agbeko

Unbeaten three-division titlewinner Abner Mares on a potential matchup with prospect Gary Russell Jr.: "Whenever this fight with Gary Russell were to happen, we'll find out then if I'm tailor-made for him."

Both Abner Mares and Leo Santa Cruz are causing a buzz after stepping up in weight and knocking out their respective opponents.

"I really felt like there was a death...I knew that I had made a horrible call in the 11th round," Nevada referee Russell Mora told RingTV.com of his failure to penalize Abner Mares for clear low blows in the first Joseph Agbeko fight.

"I think that this is the fight where I proved that I'm a pound-for-pound fighter," said Abner Mares, who knocked out Daniel Ponce de Leon to take his WBC featherweight belt, making him a three-division beltwinner.

Abner Mares: "I actually added something different to my training camp, and it's called 'Mexican Judo.' It's 'ju-don't know if I'm going to box, or ju-don't know if I'm going to brawl, but you do know that I'm going to win.'"

Abner Mares recognizes that fellow two-divsion beltholder and current WBC featherweight titleholder Daniel Ponce de Leon represents "stepping into a heavier weight class" and "going in against a heavy puncher."

Former WBC 122-pound titleholder Abner Mares on his upcoming fight with Daniel Ponce de Leon on the Mayweather-Guerrero card: "I'm taking this big step and I hope that we can steal the show that night."

Former WBC 122-pound titleholder Abner Mares on the Nonito Donaire-Guillermo Rigondeaux junior featherwieght championship bout: "I see Nonito winning by knockout. I estimate a seven-round knockout by Nonito if Rigondeaux doesn't just run and box all night."

Frank Espinoza, who manages two-division beltholder Abner Mares and WBC featherweight titleholder Daniel Ponce de Leon, says that a Mares-Ponce de Leon clash at 126 pounds could happen if Ponce de Leon defeats Jayson Velez on March 2.

Abner Mares is vacating his WBC 122-pound belt in order to campaign at 126 pounds. The former bantamweight beltholder had hoped to unify junior featherweight titles with RING/IBF/WBO 122-pound champ Nonito Donaire.

"I'm very hungry for this fight, and that's what's going to carry me to victory," said once-beaten Anselmo Moreno, who will make his 122-pound debut on Nov. 10 against undefeated WBC tltleholder Abner Mares.

If Abner Mares could have chosen an opponent other than Anselmo Moreno, he said, "I would have taken, hands down, the Nonito Donaire fight."

WBC junior featherweight titleholder Abner Mares calls Leo Santa Cruz a smaller version of Antonio Margarito and considers Anselmo Moreno to be one of the sport's premiere fighters.

WBO 122-pound titleholder Nonito Donaire says he wants to unify the junior featherweight division beginning with IBF beltholder Jeffrey Mathebula, who he faces on July 7 in Carson, Calif.

It appears that newly-crowned WBC junior featherweight beltholder Abner Mares will have to wait in line for a shot at RING No. 4-rated pound-for-pound fighter, Nonito Donaire, his WBO counterpart.

Will the young wolf, Abner Mares, out-gun the old fox, Eric Morel, when they meet in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday night for the vacant WBC 122-pound crown? Boxing insiders give their picks.

Eric Morel on Abner Mares: "His style is perfect for mine. I'm aware of his power and I'm aware of everything that he can bring. I'm confident that I can pull it off."

Abner Mares will be in his fifth straight title fight when he debuts as a junior featherweight against ex-beltholder Eric Morel on April 21.

Abner Mares and Eric Morel will face each other for the WBC's junior featherweight belt vacated by Toshiaki Nishioka, and Robert Guerrero will meet Selcuk Aydin for the organization's interim welterweight title.

Mexican-born Abner Mares has vacated the IBF bantamweight title he won from Joseph Agbeko last year in order to pursue a junior featherweight fight with Puerto Rico native Eric Morel in April.

Amir Khan's Golden Boy Promotions has made an official appeal seeking to have his loss to Lamont Peterson overturned, and if not, to get an immediate rematch.

Vic Darchinyan wants to get beyond Anselmo Moreno for a shot at the Abner Mares-Joseph Agbeko winner. Darchinyan fights the WBA bantamweight beltholder in the co-feature to Mares-Agbeko II on Saturday.

Abner Mares: "The people that really know me that have followed my career since Day One, honestly they can say that I've grown."

Saturday night's super middleweight clash featuring IBF beltholder Lucian Bute and Glen Johnson kicks off a solid, year-ending run from Showtime.

Nonito Donaire may just be passing through at 118, plus Abner Mares and Joseph Agbeko are both eager to make a statement in their rematch. "I want to knock him out," says Mares.

Bob Arum: "There's one word that I want to leave them with and that's retaliation. I'm not going to get angry, I'm not going to get bitter at what they did, but man am I going to get even in spades."

The Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito and Abner Mares-Joseph Agbeko rematches occur on the same night, Dec. 3, on different networks. Cotto-Margarito II will be on HBO Pay-Per-View; Mares-Agbeko II wll be on Showtime.

Two-belt titleholder Nonito Donaire wants to defend his crowns against Omar Narvaez, and then pursue either the winner of Abner Mares-Agbeko II or seek challenges in the junior featherweight and featherweight divisions

Promoter Don King turned 80 on Saturday but his publicist says he hasn't slowed down long enough to celebrate.

Richard Schaefer is targeting Abner Mares-Joseph Agbeko II for Dec. 3 and says that Robert Guerrero's MRI revealed "no broken bones" in his shoulder.

Trainer Freddie Roach might have to skip Julio Cesar Chavez's next fight due to a commitment to the Manny Pacquiao-Juan Manuel Marquez press tour.

Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer says those who have labeled Russell Mora a "Golden Boy referee" should "get a life."

Joseph Agbeko thought about retaliating against Abner Mares for his repeated low blows in his majority-decision loss on Saturday but never considered quitting. "I said, 'No way, I have to continue.'"

Among Lem Satterfield's many notes: IBF beltholder Tavoris Cloud might defend his title against Jean Pascal after fighting on the Oct. 15 Bernard Hopkins-Chad Dawson card.

The IBF has ordered an immediate rematch between Abner Mares and the man he dethroned, Joseph Agbeko, having determined that referee Russell Mora's failure to call low blows affected the outcome of the fight

If Nonito Donaire and Abner Mares fight, it's up to their respective networks HBO and Showtime to make it happen, said their promoters. Donaire's promoter Bob Arum says Mares should rematch with Joseph Agbeko first.

Having successfully gained an immediate rematch for Steve Cunningham against Krzysztof Wlodarczyk, Don King has cause for optimism in seeking the same after Abner Mares-Joseph Agbeko

Sergei Dzinziruk rematches Lukas Konecny, Austin Trout is looking for a fight, Kelly Pavlik discusses his team, and heavyweight prospect Seth Mitchell debuts on HBO

Unbeaten lightweight prospect Luis Ramos Jr. had to pull out of Saturday night's fight against David Rodela after he was attacked by three men on Tuesday.