eric morel

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

"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.'"

Leo Santa Cruz vacated the IBF bantamweight belt in order to rise into the junior featherweight division for Saturday night's 122-pound debut against experienced, hard-punching former titleholder Alexander Munoz.

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."

Former IBF bantamweight titleholder Leo Santa Cruz and undefeatd middleweight prospect J'Leon Love will compete in separate bouts on the undercard of the May 4 Floyd Mayweather-Robert Guerrero Showtime Pay Per View event.

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.

A Tuesday purse bid has been scheduled for the right to promote a defense by IBF bantamweight titleholder Leo Santa Cruz against England's Jamie McDonnell.  

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.

WBC junior featherweight titleholder Abner Mares calls a clash with RING, IBF and WBO champion Nonito Donaire "the only fight for me."

"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."

Manny Pacquiao began training in Hollywood on Monday for his fourth clash with Juan Manuel Marquez, which is slated for Dec. 8 at The MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

IBF bantamweight titleholder Leo Santa Cruz will try to remain unbeaten when he defends against Mexico's Victor Zaleta on Nov. 10 on Showtime.

Unbeaten bantamweight titleholder Leo Santa Cruz will make the second defense of his IBG crown against Victor Zaleta on the Nov. 10 undercard of Abner Mares-Anselmo Moreno in Los Angeles.

Abner Mares will put his unbeaten streak on the line against Anselmo Moreno on Nov. 10 at The Staples Center in Los Angeles.

Junior middleweight contender Alfredo Angulo will have been out of the ring for more than a year when he meets Raul Casarez on Nov. 10.

HBO's Jim Lampley will review Sergio Martinez's unanimous decision over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Saul Alvarez's fifth-round knockout of Josesito Lopez on the latest episdoe of The Fight Game this Saturday. 

The quadruple-header whose main event featured a fifth-round knockout by WBC junior middleweight titleholder Saul "Canelo" Alvarez over Josesito Lopez established viewership records.

Junior middleweight Saul "Canelo" Alvarez's fifth-round knockout of Josesito Lopez on Saturday drew a live gate of $1,618,150, according to Nevada State Athletic Commission executive director, Keith Kizer.

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.

A fierce body attack by IBF bantamweight titleholder Leo Santa Cruz retired Eric Morel on his stool prior to the sixth round, and may have retired him for good.

WBA titleholder Saul Alvarez received an extra $100,000 for the night's best knockout on Saturday.

Daniel Ponce de Leon scored a sixth-round knockdown and emerged with a unanimous technical decision that ended a 12-fight winning streak for Jhonny Gonzalez.

The fighters on Showtime's stacked "Knockout Kings" card obviously plan to do their "talking" in the ring on Saturday. All eight participants were classy and respectful at the short final press conference on Thursday.

Leo Santa Cruz has fought most of his career under the radar, but the unbeaten bantamweight beltholder will earn a lot of fans if he beats Eric Morel on Satruday and set himself up for big fights in the loaded 122-pound division.

WBC junior middleweight beltholder Saul Alvarez will pocket $2 million compared to $212,500 for challenger Josesito Lopez.

WBC junior featherweight belt-holder Abner Mares has a defense against Anselmo Moreno on Oct. 27.

Nonito Donaire on facing Toshiaki Nishioka: "You have to find the fighters who can challenge you and who will put you at risk. You put yourself at risk of losing, at risk of getting hurt, at risk of losing your life. That's all part of boxing."

IBF and WBO junior featherweight beltholder Nonito Donaire portrays a poor man driven by love in the movie Palad Ta Ang Nagbuot, which he recently completed filming in his native Philippines.

Birthday knockouts have become a tradition for WBC featherweight beltholder Jhonny Gonzalez, and this Sept. 15 -- Gonzalez's 31st birthday -- he'll be looking to collect a $100,000 bonus against Daniel Ponce de Leon.

An IBF bantamweight title fight between beltholder Leo Santa Cruz and Eric Morel may complete the Sept. 15 quadrupleheader headlined by WBC junior middleweight titleholder Saul Alvarez and Josesito Lopez.

WBC junior featherweight titleholder Abner Mares, lightweight contender Sharif Bogere and featherweight prosepct Gary Russell Jr. could be a part of a big weekend that includes 2012 Olympian pro debuts, Oct. 13-14, on Showtime and CBS.

Will the skill and savvy of southpaw veteran Antonio Tarver overcome the youth and athleticism of undefeated cruiserweight contender Lateef Kayode in the main event of Showtime's "Four Warned" quadrupleheader on Saturday?

Top Rank CEO Bob Arum called it a "racist" move for by the University of Texas at El Paso Board of Regents to cancel the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.-Andy Lee fight that was scheduled for June 16 at the univerity's Sun Bowl Stadium.

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.

Photographer Naoki Fukuda's shots from Abner Mares' dominant win over Eric Morel to win the WBC junior featherweight title in El Paso, Texas.

Abner Mares turned in the performance of his career, dominating Eric Morel to win the vacant WBC junior featherwieght title Saturday in El Paso, Texas.

Abner Mares, Eric Morel, Anselmo Moreno and David De La Mora looked ripped and ready for their co-featured bouts on tonight's Showtime broadcast (9:30 p.m. PT/ET) from El Paso, Texas, during yesterday's official weighin.

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.

Middleweight Fernando Guerrero has injured his left biceps, forcing him out of his ShoBox: The new Generation bout against Chris Fitzpatrick this Friday.

Watch unbeaten bantamweight standout Abner Mares train for his Showtime-televised fight with savvy veteran Eric Morel on April 21. The WBC 122-pound title is up for grabs and Mares wants it to help land the big fights at junior featherweight.

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."

Lateef Kayode's cruiserweight bout with former light heavyweight titleholder Antonio Tarver is to headline a Showtime-televised, quadruple-header from the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., on June 2.

Featherweight prospect Gary Russell Jr. is in search of a new opponent for April 21 after Dat Nguyen pulled out.

Golden Boy and the United Kingdom's BoxNation will team up to broadcast the upcoming Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Miguel Cotto fight and others to British fans, starting in April.

If he is successful against Dat Nguyen on April 21, unbeaten Gary Russell could return on July 17.