Q&A: Abner Mares

[Wheelchair]

Bantamweight superstar Abner Mares (21-0-1, 13 KOs) of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico impressively defeated Vic “Raging Bull” Darchinyan (35-3-1, 27 KOs) via split decision after twelve exciting back-and-forth rounds in the co-main event of SHOWTIME’s Bantamweight Tournament this past Saturday at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, WA to claim the vacant WBC Silver bantamweight title. Mares took time to sit down and talk to us about his fight with Darchinyan, his upcoming fight with Joseph Agbeko and a lot more.

 

Here’s what he had to say:

 

With just a few days after your fight against Darchinyan, how do you feel right now?

 

I feel really happy just enjoying my win with my family. I’m just excited and happy that I won this fight, the toughest fight and the biggest fight of my life and I’m just very happy right now.

 

You suffered a cut in the first round of the fight, how much of an affect did the cut have on you throughout the fight?

 

You know what, it did have an affect on me because it was bothering my eye and the blood had gotten into my eye and I couldn’t see a couple time but mentally I was just ready for this fight and I just tried not to let it bother me and just not to think of it and just focus on winning the fight.

 

Having been knocked down for the first time in your career and suffering the cut in the first round, at any point did you think about giving up and how important was it to you to continue and fight to come out with the win?

 


It was very important; I had everything against me in the first few rounds. I had the head butt in the first round, the knockdown in the second and points deducted in the fourth and it was just four rounds that weren’t going my way but I stayed focused. I had my mind set up that I couldn’t go home empty handed, I have to win this fight and I just concentrated and focused on winning. The first thing that came to mind when I got knocked down was the Marquez-Pacquiao fight and I said to myself, if Marquez got knocked down three times, then I can come back and win this fight, if he did it then I can do it too. It’s only one knockdown and there are twelve rounds of fighting so we’re still in this and I knew I could win.

 

Vic Darchinyan is considered to be one of the heavier punchers in the bantamweight division, yet you were able to take some of his best shots, tell us, what is your opinion of him as a fighter?

 

Well Darchinyan, before he fought me I thought he was a great fighter, a tough fighter, a strong fighter and just a very fundamental fighter. In my fight he actually boxed, he came out boxing, he was using angles and that was a comment that me made, that this was the best that he has to show and I proved that when he’s at his best I was still able to do damage. I was able to move him back and get to the body and my body work was the key in this fight but I still believe Darchinyan is a great fighter.

 

What are some of the things you worked on going into the fight, what was the strategy to defeat Darchinyan?

 

Well, we knew we had to push him back, Darchinyan likes to bully fighters and he’s the one always putting pressure, intimidating the fighters but not us. Since the press conference we were not intimidated at all, I felt I was stronger than him and I was ready for this, we knew we had to pressure him back and go to the body.

 

Were you surprised at all when Darchinyan came out boxing in the first few rounds, instead of his coming out with trademark brawler style?

 

I was really surprised when he came out boxing, I thought he was going to come out banging but he came out boxing. With us putting the pressure, he tried to close the fight with one big punch and impress the judges with a big one, two punch but we took them well and thank God the judges weren’t impressed with his one, two punch that he was throwing and we were closing up the rounds backing him up.

 

Do you feel Vic Darchinyan has been your toughest opponent to date?

 

No doubt, Darchinyan has been my toughest fight and the biggest in my career. We plan on getting bigger and better fights but first we have to prove ourselves and I think we proved that with Darchinyan and this was a big win. 


 

What does it mean to you to be a part of SHOWTIME’s Bantamweight Tournament and how important is it for you to win this tournament?

 

It means the world to me, it’s a great opportunity to show case my skills and what show what I can do. It gives me an opportunity to provide a better life for my family and I just have to continue to work hard. I’m just thankful to Showtime, Golden Boy Promotions, my manager Espinoza Boxing for putting me on this tournament and I’m very grateful.

 

With your win over Darchinyan you’re now scheduled to face Joseph Agbeko in the finals of the Bantamweight Tournament, what do you know about him and what’s your opinion of him as a fighter?

 

Agbeko, I’ve seen him fight a couple of times and he’s a great fighter, he’s a tough fighter, a very great champion and he’s shown that in his last fight. He came back to win his title against Yonnhy and I just expect a tough fight. He’s a fighter that comes forward, throws a lot of punches, something like a hundred punches a round and we just have to train really hard like we always have and I’m sure we’ll be ready and I know we’ll give the fans another great fight.

 

You’ve been with Frank Espinoza’s Espinoza Boxing Club for quite some time now, tell us how important have they been in the development of your career?

 

They’ve been very important, ever since Espinoza Boxing Club, Frank Sr. and Frankie Jr, stepped in they’ve done so much and brought so much to the table and have made my career move forward. I’m very thankful for them and very grateful they have been such a big part of my life.

 

What are some of your goals for the New Year?

 

The main goal for the coming year is to win my fight against Agbeko and become the bantamweight champion. Hopefully then get a big name fight against Donaire or Fernando Montiel and just expect nothing but the best next year and God willing everything will turn out that way.

 

In closing, is there anything you would like to say to your fans?

 

Definitely, I want to thank all my fans, all my fans in Mexico, for keeping me in their prayers, this was for all of you, thank you all. I fought my heard out, I fought like a true Mexican warrior and I just want wish everyone a happy holidays, nothing but the best for the coming year and just thank all for all the support.

http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/qa-abner-mares-2-70259