Santa Cruz vs Mares 2 Odds – This Saturday night on Showtime Boxing featherweight studs Leo Santa Cruz and Abner Mares meet for a second time. The two first fought in August of 2015 and that matches ended with Santa Cruz edging Mares via majority decision. Since then, both fighters have lived with the knowledge that they will likely meet again.
Mares has gone 2-0 since he first fought Santa Cruz, notching wins over Jesus Cuellar and Andres Gutierrez. At 31-2-1 the 32 year old Mares has not given up on the idea of regaining a world title. Meanwhile, Santa Cruz has been more active, notching a 3-1 record over that same time span, including a 1-1 record in two fights with Carl Frampton.
For Santa Cruz this is a rematch before “the rematch” as he has a third fight with Carl “The Jackal” Frampton sometime down the line that is even more highly anticipated. Both Santa Cruz and Mares were already top shelf fighters when they first met and the fight was definitely entertaining. Though the judges marked a MD for Santa Cruz, most observers felt he had done enough to earn the nod and that is what is expected come Saturday.
WBC world super welterweight champion Jermell Charlo defends his title against veteran Austin Trout in the second bout of Showtime’s doubleheader. The fight will be the 28 year old Charlo’s third defense of the belt and he has generally been carrying the label of “future star” for a long time.
For Trout, this is a last hurrah. He went 0-2 total in 2016 and 2017 including a loss to Jermall Charlo. Now, Trout fought well in that fight and he fell by unanimous decision. Jermell has since moved up to operate in the middleweight division and he has remained undefeated.
Though they are twins, Jermall is not Jermell. Jermell has now held the WBC belt at 154 pounds for 2 years, having won it in May of 2016 when he stopped John Jackson in the eighth round. In his last outing, Jermell faced undefeated prospect Erickson Lubin in a fight that saw the youngster Lubin earn most of the pre-fight hype. Charlo falttened Lubin, scoring the one punch KO in the opening round. Jermell is motivated by getting Trout out of there, something that will not be easy to do to the stalwart Trout.
As for Trout, he is a professional and as such he will come in very motivated for this one. It is his last chance and against Jermall and also against the massive Jarrett Hurd, Trout did have his moments.
For many years, we heard about the Charlo Brothers, and now the pair are both world champions operating in different weight classes. They have both done well to establish themselves as individuals and now the twins appear to be engaged in a race to the top of boxing between the two. After facing down the challenge of Lubin, Charlo was in a position to take a mandatory challenge or a softer fight but that is not what Trout is. Charlo is going to have to show he can manage rounds if he cannot break through with the stoppage.
Santa Cruz vs Mares 2 Odds
Sat 6/9 – Staples Center – Los Angeles, California – Showtime
Featherweight 12 rounds –
Abner Mares +425
Leo Santa Cruz -550
Super Welterweight 12 rounds –
Austin Trout +610
Jermell Charlo -920
Santa Cruz vs Mares 2 Odds / Check out more boxing news and features at The Sweet Science.
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