There’s finally an official date for the Leo Santa Cruz-Abner Mares rematch: June 9 at Staples Center.
Showtime will confirm the bout Wednesday afternoon at a news conference in New York to detail a slew of matches the network will televise during the first half of the year. Two officials aware of the Santa Cruz-Mares date but unauthorized to speak publicly on the matter because of the pending announcement told The Times of the date.
Short of the drawn-out Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao negotiations, Santa Cruz-Mares II has taken nearly three years to materialize after Santa Cruz defeated his Southland neighbor by majority decision before a packed crowd at Staples Center in August 2015.
Since then, Santa Cruz (34-1-1, 19 knockouts) has lost and regained his World Boxing Assn. featherweight belt in two compelling bouts with Northern Ireland’s Carl Frampton, while Mares (31-2-1, 15 KOs) claimed the WBA’s secondary featherweight belt by defeating Jesus Cuellar at USC’s Galen Center in December 2016.
The pair seemed destined for a meeting last year, but Santa Cruz’s father and trainer, Jose Santa Cruz, expressed a request for a lesser bout before Mares, so they co-headlined a card at StubHub Center in October.
That night, Mares’ development under trainer Robert Garcia shined as Mares, 32, rolled to a wide 10th-round technical decision over Andres Gutierrez. Santa Cruz won by eighth-round knockout over Lancaster’s Chris Avalos.
Mares’ performance against a more accomplished foe has fueled the idea that he’ll have a better chance to win the rematch. He has remained in fighting shape since the October fight, believing the Santa Cruz rematch would land in April, but scheduling issues with Staples Center ? along with the insistence of officials to keep the bout in Los Angeles ? pushed the date back to June.
