By: Sean Crose
Three time titlist Abner Mares returned to the ring at 36 years of age Sunday at LA’s Crypto.com Center. His opponent in the scheduled 10 round junior lightweight bout was the 25-4 Miguel Flores. Mares, who hadn’t fought in four years, looked terrific at first, dominating his man in the opening rounds while showing a sharpened skill set.
Flores, however, began to pick up steam in the middle rounds, which no doubt helped him on the scorecards. Although he still looked good, age and ring rust seemed to be having an impact on Mares. Indeed, heading into the later rounds, Mares kept his distance from his opponent as much as possible, throwing and landing well when the opportunity presented itself. Flores was clearly the more aggressive of the two.
By the tenth and final round, an exhausted Mares was rocked several times. If it were a twelve round battle, he might have been unable to remain on his feet. This was ten rounder, however, and Mares had built an early lead. It would be interesting to see who the judges gave the nod to.
Ultimately, the nod went to either as the fight was ruled a majority draw.