“This moment right now is the single
greatest and most glorious moment of my life,” said an elated Gonzalez, who
reclaimed the 126-pound belt he once held and breathed new life into his career
with the win over his former training partner. “When I came to the United States
for this fight no one gave me any credit. All they talked about was Mares
fighting Santa Cruz. I didn’t say anything but I knew I was getting
disrespected.”
Both Gonzalez, from Mexico City,
Mexico, and the former WBC featherweight champion, Mares of Downey, Calif., by way of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico,
each came out aggressively. Halfway through the opening round, Gonzalez
connected with a solid left hook Mares never saw coming, dropping him to the
canvas and leading to an eight-count. After Mares made it to his feet, Gonzalez
landed another of punches that ended with a left hook and a right cross that
knocked Mares backwards. Referee Jack Reiss stepped in and stopped the fight
with five seconds to go in the first round.
“I knew I had him badly hurt after
the first knockdown,” Gonzalez said.
“I’m good,” said Mares, who held
titles at 118 and 122 pounds before claiming the featherweight belt last May. He was making his eighth consecutive appearance
on SHOWTIME. “You have to win and you have to learn how to lose in this
sport. I’m not in the sport to remain undefeated, but I’m here to fight the
best.
“I was alright with the ref’s
decision. He did his job and I respect it. But I thought I could go on,” he
added. “Now I’m going to take a break and enjoy my
family.”
Like Gonzalez, Santa Cruz of Los
Angeles, by way of Huetamo, Michoacan,
Mexico, went to work early and often against
Terrazas, throwing 267 punches in just two and a half rounds. Terrazas, of
Guadalajara, was cut just under the right eye in the second round and Santa Cruz
took advantage landing punch after punch, finally sending Terrazas down for a
nine-count, and then again for an eight-count midway through the third. Referee
Lou Moret halted matters at 2:09 of the third round.
“This is a dream come true,” said
Santa Cruz , 25,
who had fought 106 fewer rounds in his career than Terrazas, who is 30. “I’ve wanted the
green belt my entire life. Once I saw the eye start to swell I knew I had to go
after him and put the pressure on him.”
Terrazas said, “The eye was not a
problem. This was a good fight. He was tough like I expected. He just caught me.
I wanted to continue the fight.”
Earlier on SHOWTIME EXTREME Antonio Orozco (18-0, 14 KO’s), San
Diego, Calif., overpowered
Ivan Hernandez (29-3, 22 KO’s), Miami, Fla., in
round three of a scheduled 10-round junior welterweight bout.
In a battle of featherweights, 2012
U.S. Olympian Joseph “Jo Jo’’ Diaz Jr. (7-0, 5 KO’s) of South El Monte,
Calif., looked impressive in a third-round knockout over Noel Mendoza (6-3-1, 1 KO), of Phoenix,
Ariz., the referee stopping the bout at 1:54 of the third of the scheduled
six-round bout. Diaz knocked
Mendoza down with a left cross, right hook combo that sent Mendoza to the canvas
for good.
In the first SHOWTIME EXTREME bout
between heavyweights, 2012 U.S. Olympian Dominic Breazeale (6-0, 6 KO’s), of Los
Angeles, passed the stiffest test of his young career and remained undefeated
with his sixth consecutive knockout, this one coming on a TKO in the fifth round
against Lenroy Thomas (16-3, 8 KO’s)
of St. Catherine, Jamaica.
Brian Kenny hosted the
SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast, with Mauro
Ranallo
calling
the action, Al Bernstein and Paulie Malignaggi serving as expert
analysts and Jim Gray
reporting. Barry Tompkins called the
SHOWTIME EXTREME action with Steve Farhood
serving as
expert analyst. Alejandro
Luna called the blow-by-blow for SAP with Raul
Marquez
serving
as color
commentator.
Saturday’s world championship
doubleheader will re-air this week as follows:
DAY
CHANNEL
Tomorrow, Sunday, Aug. 25, at 9 a.m.
ET/PT SHOWTIME
The fights will be available ON
DEMAND beginning tomorrow, Aug. 25.
ABOUT "MARES VS.
GONZALEZ":
Mares vs.
Gonzalez, a 12-round
fight for Mares' WBC Featherweight World Championship, took place on Saturday,
August 24 at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. The event was promoted by
Golden Boy Promotions, sponsored by Corona and AT&T and televised live on
SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® immediately following the series
premiere of ALL ACCESS: Mayweather vs. Canelo at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.
Also featured was a 12-round world championship showdown between WBC Super
Bantamweight World Champion Victor Terrazas and former IBF Bantamweight World
Champion Leo Santa Cruz. SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is available in
Spanish using secondary audio programming (SAP). Mares vs. Gonzalez was
presented in association with Promociones Del Pueblo. Preliminary fights
aired on SHOWTIME EXTREME® .
