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MARES: "I'M NOT AFRAID TO LOSE MY UNDEFEATED RECORD"
By Rob Soucy
BT: How do you rate your win last month against Eric Morel now that you have had a chance to watch it?
AM: I thought it was a solid performance, it was good but it wasn’t my best, I think I can do better. I’m happy that I got to show improvement. At the end of the day I want to be able to show a different Abner every fight, even different styles. I will do different things in the ring each and every fight.
BT: Are you disappointed that you didn’t stop Morel?
AM: You know what, I’m not because that would be taking something away from Eric Morel. He was very tough, he took a ton of body shots and took a lot of punishment. I’m telling you man, I hit him with some body shots and heard him moan and thought he was going down. But he stood there and traded with me, I take my hat off to him.
BT: Have you gotten back in the gym full time yet?
AM: No not yet, I’m not going to a lie I’m enjoying my free time right now. My wife gets here to Vegas with me on Thursday and we’re going to enjoy the rest of the week here and the fight. Definitely after this week we’re going to go back home and start back slow.
BT: Do you plan to stay in the 122-pound division?
AM: I definitely do. Right now this division has big names that we want to fight and I’m going to stay here at least two or three more fights. I’ll defend my title and then will be looking forward to moving up to 126.
BT: What do you feel is your best attribute in the ring?
AM: I think I’m a guy that just loves to work hard. I love to go to the body and break down my opponent.
BT: Do you feel that you are a little bit underrated?
AM: Yeah, I think you could say that. I have already won two world titles so people are starting to recognize me a lot more now. There are a lot of fighters who haven’t yet fought for a world title and they are very well known and get a lot of publicity. I myself am working toward that and I will be satisfied that I earned everything that comes way. I don’t want anyone to give me anything, I want to earn it.
BT: Which fighters are on you radar at this point?
AM: All the big names. We want to fight Nonito Donaire, Jorge Arce, Wilfredo Vazquez Jr., and any of the top opposition at 122 right now. [Editor's note: notice, no mention of 118-pounder Anselmo Moreno].
BT: You mentioned Donaire who is a top five pound-for-pounder on most lists. Do you feel that you are ready for that challenge in a couple of fights?
AM: I definitely will be, I don’t look at P4P it’s just a paper and an opinion. It doesn’t mean much, at the end of the day it will just be us in the ring and I definitely want to test myself against the best. I know I’m still young and I know it won’t be my next fight. But two or three fights down the road I will be prepared for him.
BT: Your comments in the ring after the Morel fight were something to the effect of: “Win, Lose, draw who cares let’s just fight for the fans.” Can you explain what you meant?
AM: What I meant is that I don’t care if I lose, I’m not afraid to lose my undefeated record because it’s just a number. Boxing people don’t look at your record as much as they look at who you have fought, it means more. I want people to want to watch me fight again regardless of my record. People won’t stop watching Abner Mares if I lose, because I want to fight the best and be known as a warrior. I want to give fans their money’s worth!
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