- 9 months ago
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00:00:00After Mares against Eric Morel, the challenge facing Mares tonight, can he win a world title in a second division and continue to distinguish himself as one of today's best fighters?
00:00:13When you're fighting, when you're there, surrounded by all your friends, everybody, you feel that you're on top of the world, but once you get home, it's just family.
00:00:24My wife and kids, they bring me down to that level where it's just me being the normal guy that I am.
00:00:32You think boxing is a job?
00:00:34Yes, you get money to buy stuff.
00:00:37There you go.
00:00:38To buy me stuff.
00:00:39Who was the last guy you fought?
00:00:41It's still the picture there. I can't stop thinking about that. I was scared when you were bleeding.
00:00:47Oh, yeah. I was bleeding a lot, huh?
00:00:49Yeah, every day I'm thinking about that.
00:00:53I was born in Mexico. I was brought at the age of seven years old here to the United States by my mom with six brothers and sisters.
00:01:03This is the first apartment complex we came to. My mom's side of the family lived here, my uncle's aunts, and we all lived together.
00:01:14My mom was always working two jobs. She left like around six in the morning and probably won't come back until like eight, nine at night.
00:01:21So there were times we wouldn't see our mom for about days.
00:01:26Hawaiian Gardens at that time was really rough. It was a really bad neighborhood, and there was gunshots, I could say, every day.
00:01:34I had to survive on my own. I mean, eating out of trash cans.
00:01:38You see what's going on?
00:01:41You grow up tough, and you become a tough person mentally as well.
00:01:48What's up, what's up, man?
00:01:49This is my first coach, Manny Nava. This is the first guy that taught me the first couple of moves.
00:01:56I started here in this gym. Everything's the same. Same ring.
00:01:59He's got a little picture when he was eight years old up there when he started.
00:02:04One day for their entertainment, the coaches, they said, hey, let's make the little guys, you know, fight.
00:02:10So they put me in the ring. I got into it with another kid, and it was fun. I liked it.
00:02:16I made the kid bleed, cry, and it just, you know, it made me feel good.
00:02:20And that, you know, started to be an everyday thing.
00:02:24And now, you know, knowing that going in that ring, I'm providing for my family, it gives me the strength, you know, to just go out there and do my job.
00:02:34Heh heh.
00:02:36Alright, so Abner Marez, not only a great fighter, but a terrific family man as well with the champ Antonio Tarver and Al Bernstein.
00:02:43And Al, you have to give Marez a lot of credit. I mean, he's done some terrific things.
00:02:48Four tough fights. Yanni Perez a draw.
00:02:51Vic Darchinian, split decision. Two tough fights with Agbeko.
00:02:54Now he moves up in weight to superman in weight where there are no shortages of challenges.
00:03:01There really aren't. What makes this interesting, this 122-pound division, is almost everybody, including Anselmo Moreno, who we just saw, is happy to move up from 118 to 122.
00:03:11So there's the Donairs and the Arces waiting for him there.
00:03:14And then people like Moreno and others who are happy to move up from 118.
00:03:19So I think that's what makes this really interesting.
00:03:22And of course, tonight Abner Marez, though, has to get past Eric Morel.
00:03:26All right, champ, you are very familiar with Eric Morel.
00:03:29You guys were on the Olympic team together.
00:03:31Morel has had some challenges outside of the ring that he's put behind him.
00:03:36But at 36 years old, at this weight class, with the little guys, he may be past his prime. Can he still do it?
00:03:44I think he can. I don't believe he's past his prime because the prime is how much punishment have you taken in a fight.
00:03:51And Eric Morel has really never been dominated, hasn't been seriously hurt in a fight.
00:03:55And he's won most of all his fights, over 43 fights.
00:03:58So I think he has the skill. I know he can fight.
00:04:01I think he has the skill to do something special tonight.
00:04:05He knows that this could be his last and final opportunity.
00:04:08And even when he won the title, he didn't fight a well-known fighter like Abner Marez.
00:04:13He knows if he wins tonight, he's in the thick of things.
00:04:16So he wants to put himself back in the minds of the people in America and all the naysayers.
00:04:23So it's time.
00:04:24Well, Abner Marez saying that he wants to take Morel in deep, deep water against a young 26-year-old fighter.
00:04:32And we are ready for our main event here in El Paso, Texas.
00:04:38The challenger entering the ring, Eric Morel, former champion along with Abner Marez.
00:04:49And according to him, a do-or-die moment for this 36-year-old.
00:04:55You know, Eric Morel is an interesting case because you mentioned the fact that he's 36.
00:05:01We are now seeing Vic Darchinian perform fairly well in his mid-30s.
00:05:06Maybe that bar has been raised in terms of the age for people like Super Bantamweight,
00:05:11that they can perform a little later in years.
00:05:14And the other thing that would be interesting, Antonio, is he lifts a lot of weights,
00:05:17and he thinks he's added power for this fight.
00:05:20You know what? If he's added power, along with that boxing skill and ability,
00:05:24that could spell trouble for Abner Marez.
00:05:26And you know, with Abner, he just feels that Eric Morel hasn't been in this type of fight before
00:05:32with a real champion at this level.
00:05:34So he's thinking he may melt under pressure.
00:05:37So Morel telling us he never thought he would get back to a situation
00:05:42that would allow him to fight for a title.
00:05:45But now that he's here, he says,
00:05:47the hunger is going to allow me to achieve my dream.
00:05:52I rededicated myself at 36.
00:05:56I understand now.
00:05:58You take things for granted when you're young.
00:06:01But I'm making better decisions
00:06:04and that's where my dedication has come into form.
00:06:08And you know, you can see, he's enjoying this moment.
00:06:11Yeah.
00:06:12On some levels, that's a good sign for him.
00:06:14And you know what? I can relate.
00:06:16You know, sometimes it just takes fighters and men a little longer to get it.
00:06:20So Eric Morel has it now.
00:06:23And we'll see, can he put it all together and have one last spectacular moment?
00:06:29And the champion, Abner Mares,
00:06:37moves up in weight to super bantamweight.
00:06:42Gave up his title after defeating Joseph Ekbeko for the second time.
00:06:49Now prepares to fight for the vacant WBC world title.
00:06:55It's his to lose.
00:06:58You know, he fought the first part of his career as a 122-pounder,
00:07:02so it's not completely unfamiliar territory to him.
00:07:06Although there's an anomaly with this fight
00:07:08because they contracted the fight at 120 pounds,
00:07:12then they made it a championship fight.
00:07:14But Eric Morel said, no, no, I still want it at 120.
00:07:17So they're fighting at 120 pounds.
00:07:19And that's really smart for Eric Morel.
00:07:22And we'll see if that will make a difference tonight, Al.
00:07:25But you have to give the young man credit.
00:07:28I mean, the ride that he's been on lately with the stiff competition,
00:07:31and he don't look like he's slowing down at all
00:07:34because he wants more big-name fighters on his resume.
00:07:38Abner telling us, I want to fight the best.
00:07:41He said, I'm still learning.
00:07:43I'm still learning.
00:07:45I'm still learning.
00:07:47Abner telling us, I want to fight the best.
00:07:50He said, I'm still learning.
00:07:52This is still an education for me.
00:07:54I'm still in high school, and I haven't graduated.
00:08:01So we're ready for the tale of the tape.
00:08:0312 rounds for the super-Vanomweight,
00:08:06vacant WBC world title,
00:08:09Abner Mares against Eric,
00:08:11Little Hands of Steel Morel.
00:08:13You know, what's interesting about this is,
00:08:15even though Eric Morel started as a flyweight,
00:08:18he has an edge in height and an edge in reach,
00:08:21which is interesting, and he's the boxer in a way.
00:08:24You wouldn't think that.
00:08:25Morel is not the smaller fighter in this situation.
00:08:27And that was surprising because I wanted to think
00:08:29that Abner Mares was the bigger guy.
00:08:31So, you know, that size and reach advantage
00:08:34could be a difference tonight, Al.
00:08:36Very good point.
00:08:39So we are ready for our main event.
00:08:43Abner Mares taking on Eric Morel
00:08:48for the vacant WBC world title.
00:08:51Let's go inside the ring for the introductions
00:08:55with the classy Jimmy Lennon Jr.
00:08:59Ring, ring.
00:09:05Ladies and gentlemen, a very good evening to you,
00:09:09and welcome to the Don Haskins Center
00:09:11here in El Paso, Texas,
00:09:13for the featured bout of the evening,
00:09:16brought to you by Golden Boy Promotions
00:09:19in association with Corona Extra,
00:09:22La Cerveza Mas Fina,
00:09:25AT&T.
00:09:27Get it faster with 4G.
00:09:30Briefing possible and showtime.
00:09:34This bout is sanctioned by the WBC.
00:09:36President Jose Suleiman,
00:09:38the supervisor is Bob Yehlen,
00:09:40along with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation,
00:09:43Commissioner William Kuntz.
00:09:45Our physicians tonight, Dr. Brian August
00:09:48and Dr. Edward Leyva.
00:09:50Timekeepers at the bell also keeping count of the knockdowns,
00:09:54and Justin Vicencio.
00:09:57Introducing our three judges scoring from ringside,
00:10:00from Las Vegas, Nevada, Dwayne Ford.
00:10:03From Dallas, Texas, Don Griffin.
00:10:06And from El Paso, Texas, Raul Valencia.
00:10:10And our third man to the ring,
00:10:12the referee in charge, Guadalupe Garcia.
00:10:18All right, fans, here we go
00:10:21with the main event of the evening,
00:10:2412 rounds of boxing for the vacant
00:10:27WBC Super Battleweight Championship of the World.
00:10:31And now, ladies and gentlemen in attendance,
00:10:34and boxing fans joining us around the world,
00:10:38live from El Paso,
00:10:41it's showtime!
00:10:52Introducing to you first, on my right,
00:10:55fighting out of the blue corner,
00:10:57wearing white trunks with gold trim,
00:11:00fighting out of Madison, Wisconsin,
00:11:02by way of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
00:11:06He weighed in at 120 pounds even,
00:11:09with a record of 46 wins and 2 losses.
00:11:12He has 23 wins coming by way of knockout.
00:11:16Ranked the WBC number 5 contender,
00:11:19ladies and gentlemen, please welcome
00:11:21the former long-time flyweight champion of the world,
00:11:25known as Little Hands of Steel,
00:11:28introducing Eric Morel!
00:11:38And his opponent across the ring on my left,
00:11:41fighting out of the red corner,
00:11:43wearing blue and white trunks,
00:11:45fighting out of Hawaiian Gardens, California,
00:11:48by way of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico.
00:11:53He weighed in at a ready 119 and one-half pounds.
00:11:57He is undefeated in his campaign,
00:11:59with a record of 23 wins, no losses,
00:12:02one draw, with 13 wins coming by way of knockout.
00:12:06Currently ranked the WBC number 1 contender.
00:12:10Please welcome the 2004 Mexican Olympian,
00:12:14the former WBC silver title holder,
00:12:17and the former IBF bantamweight champion of the world,
00:12:22introducing Ahmed Marez!
00:12:35Once again, a referee in charge,
00:12:36now to give instructions, Guadalupe Garcia.
00:12:41Gentlemen, remember,
00:12:43after I give you the tools in the locker room,
00:12:45good luck and make the best win.
00:12:47Check the gloves and go to your tournaments.
00:12:5210-year age difference between these two gentlemen.
00:12:56Eric Little Hands of Steel Morel, 36 years old,
00:13:00born in 1975,
00:13:03looking to get back on top,
00:13:07facing 26-year-old Abner Marez,
00:13:11who's been almost flawless in his career,
00:13:14has never lost a fight,
00:13:16one draw to Yanni Perez,
00:13:18and we're underway for the vacant WBC world
00:13:22super bantamweight title.
00:13:25Hey, Gus, I'll tell you one thing,
00:13:26and I feel that all the corners have got into it,
00:13:29and also the fans about this Mexican-Puerto Rican pride
00:13:33that both of these fighters have,
00:13:36It's a beautiful thing.
00:13:37Here we go again.
00:13:38And Eric Morel started off
00:13:40by landing a really nice right hand.
00:13:43So for him, and it's all about, for Eric Morel,
00:13:45I think it's all about these early rounds,
00:13:47getting the confidence they can hang with this young man.
00:13:50And he's slick, man.
00:13:51I mean, this guy got great ring generalship,
00:13:54and his defense is there.
00:13:56I mean, I think if Abner Marez can't get there
00:14:00with those big shots early,
00:14:02he's going to allow Eric Morel to get confident.
00:14:05And Morel, the former WBA flyweight champion,
00:14:09defended the title five times.
00:14:13And he's fought some terrific former world champions,
00:14:18Jerry Pinollas, Martin Castillo, Lorenzo Parra.
00:14:24A lot of experience in the ring tonight,
00:14:27and he looks in tip-top shape.
00:14:29Yeah, he does look great.
00:14:30I mean, and that jab is going to be a key weapon
00:14:33for Eric Morel.
00:14:34If he's snapping it like that,
00:14:35and you keep seeing Abner Marez's head snap back,
00:14:40that's going to give him a lot of confidence
00:14:42to do what he do.
00:14:43You know, one thing we never do at this table
00:14:46is make snap judgments in the first round.
00:14:49But it is very early in this fight,
00:14:51but I will tell you, Eric Morel looks sharp.
00:14:54As for Abner Marez, he won the IBF title
00:14:57As for Abner Marez, he won the IBF world title
00:15:00in his first meeting with Joseph Ecbeko,
00:15:02a 12-round controversial majority decision
00:15:06because of low blow.
00:15:08And because of the controversy,
00:15:10he gave Ecbeko a rematch
00:15:13December of 2011 in Anaheim,
00:15:16and he won a 12-round unanimous decision
00:15:19in the rematch against Ecbeko
00:15:21and looked terrific.
00:15:22That was a great performance by Abner Marez.
00:15:24Marez wants to go to the body early.
00:15:26Here's a left hook.
00:15:27That's going to be a calling card for Marez.
00:15:29Marez wants to put pressure on Eric Morel,
00:15:31and as Antonio said earlier,
00:15:33make him remember that you haven't fought
00:15:35a really top-notch fighter for a long time,
00:15:38even though he's got an 11-fight win streak.
00:15:40At this level and with everything at stake,
00:15:44it's a different ballgame.
00:15:47And now Marez is starting to get in more power punches
00:15:50in the second portion of this round.
00:15:53No.
00:15:56ie!
00:16:16Ooh, heavy punches by Abner Marez
00:16:19as he throws Morel to the canvas.
00:16:22He's been cheating up in this fight already.
00:16:34The jab setting up that right hand by Marez
00:16:36and then some punches afterwards,
00:16:38but the right hand was clearly the one that was important.
00:16:40Not a knockdown, but that right got in,
00:16:43and so did a number of power punches from Marez
00:16:45toward the end of the round.
00:16:47And what are the keys for Abner Marez?
00:16:49Yeah, for Marez, against a 36-year-old,
00:16:53you want to work the body early,
00:16:55and he has started to do that toward the end of the round.
00:16:57Marez says he wants to keep the pressure on.
00:16:59Reminded Morrell he's in with a tough fighter.
00:17:01Can't be reckless, though, when he does.
00:17:05And for Eric Morrell, he's a very cagey fighter.
00:17:10That's for sure, and he wants to be
00:17:11as cute or clever as he can.
00:17:13Don't trade left hooks with Marez,
00:17:16and the jab and the straight right,
00:17:17which we saw a couple of times in round one,
00:17:20are the tickets for him.
00:17:22The second round scheduled for 12
00:17:24with a vacant WBA super-Bantamweight championship,
00:17:29as Abner Marez in the black and white
00:17:34takes on Eric Morrell in the gold and white trunks.
00:17:42Eric Morrell became a little more stationary
00:17:44in the second part of that round,
00:17:46and that was when Marez was able to start
00:17:48landing power punches, and he's doing it again.
00:17:51Morrell holding on.
00:17:53He may have been hurt.
00:17:56He was.
00:17:57Morrell now exchanging.
00:17:59He said, if I have to change my strategy
00:18:02in the middle of this fight and stand toe-to-toe,
00:18:05I have to do it.
00:18:07I don't know if this is a good thing for Eric Morrell,
00:18:09but it looks like he's fighting from a heart from his heart,
00:18:12and he knows how much this fight means to him,
00:18:15but he stayed stationary.
00:18:16He kept his chin up, and Abner Marez was able to land,
00:18:19but you see Eric Morrell fighting back.
00:18:21That's the mark of a champion.
00:18:23He won't quit, and if this is a firefight,
00:18:25it doesn't really favor him,
00:18:27but he will create a fight for us here
00:18:29and maybe be fortunate to land something
00:18:31that might hurt Marez, but that's a long shot.
00:18:33Marez using the free hand.
00:18:36Marez trying to jump on him.
00:18:37You can see Abner Marez, according to his trainer,
00:18:41has been gaining muscle over the last two or three fights.
00:18:47He looks very fit and stronger than we've ever seen.
00:18:55Abner Marez said that his, uh, he was gonna press him.
00:18:58He was gonna show him that he hadn't fought
00:19:00at this level in a while, and you know what?
00:19:02He's done that.
00:19:03Now it's important for Eric Morrell
00:19:05to raise to the occasion.
00:19:07He has to take it to another level now.
00:19:10And interestingly, Marez thought he would do it
00:19:12with the body shots early,
00:19:13but he's landed some really good shots
00:19:15to the head, both hooks and straight right hands.
00:19:21Ooh.
00:19:23Looping right hand.
00:19:24Uppercut go by Morrell.
00:19:29Abner Marez would love for this to be a brawl.
00:19:32It's his type of fight.
00:19:37What's impressive about what Marez is doing
00:19:39is he's very precise with his work,
00:19:41working behind the jab and being a very good boxer,
00:19:44puncher, and a powerful one.
00:19:46What I like that I see that he's improved on,
00:19:49he has those punches straight and sharp.
00:19:52He's not winging those shots, but he's going with more power.
00:19:55And look at Marez saying, come on, Morrell.
00:20:00Marez, uppercut, right hand, rolling.
00:20:06Ooh, sitting on his punches.
00:20:09Marez, sticking.
00:20:18Big right hand by Abner Marez.
00:20:21And that's the end of the round.
00:20:22When Abner is growing up.
00:20:32Damn.
00:20:36Give him the bottle.
00:20:39Give him some water, give him some water.
00:20:42Keep calm, keep calm.
00:20:46They're trying to pressure him.
00:20:50Strategically, for the first minute and a half,
00:20:52things were going Eric Borel's way.
00:20:53Not so much since then.
00:20:55There he lands a right uppercut,
00:20:57but it's the left hook of Marez
00:20:58that is much more powerful.
00:21:00And had Borel teetering and almost ready to go down.
00:21:04And then there's that hook.
00:21:06It was a beautiful left hook.
00:21:09And gave Abner Marez all kinds of confidence.
00:21:12And then the little bravado, Antonio.
00:21:14Hey, he's feeling good.
00:21:15I mean, this guy is the Bantamweight champion,
00:21:18the Showtime Bantamweight champion.
00:21:20Why shouldn't he be confident?
00:21:26Third round, scheduled for 12.
00:21:30For the vacant WBC Super Bantamweight title.
00:21:34Two former champions in the ring.
00:21:38Abner Marez, considered the favorite in black and white.
00:21:41Eric Borel, the 36-year-old in golden white.
00:21:44Now, Abner Marez, pushing through.
00:21:49Eric Borel has taken some serious shot
00:21:51with that overhand right.
00:21:53He seemed like he's found a home with that,
00:21:55Abner Marez has.
00:21:56And Eric Borel needs to slow this fight down a little bit.
00:21:58He has to trust his jab and trust his footwork.
00:22:01Maybe at 36, he can't continue to move like he used to.
00:22:06But he's gotta try.
00:22:07It's a very good point.
00:22:09And you look at the total punches,
00:22:11and Marez landing at 38%,
00:22:14and for Morel, only 19%.
00:22:17And obviously, Marez busier as well.
00:22:22Marez averages 79 punch per round normally.
00:22:26Not quite there at that, but he's thrown a lot of punches.
00:22:32Marez pinning Morel in the corner.
00:22:35Morel pivoting and gets back to the center of the ring.
00:22:41There was an example of what Antonio talked about.
00:22:42There was good footwork by Morel.
00:22:43He was then able to land a little sneaky right hand.
00:22:46I don't know if any of that's gonna hurt Marez,
00:22:48but he's gotta try to land that.
00:22:50But one thing he has to do,
00:22:51he has to get under that right hand
00:22:53when Abner Marez comes close.
00:22:55He's standing up too straight,
00:22:57and he's vulnerable for the overhand shots.
00:23:00You made that point very effectively
00:23:02when Juan Manuel Lopez fought Orlando Salida.
00:23:06And it's happening again, Derrick Morel.
00:23:3340 seconds to go in the third round scheduled for 12
00:23:35in the vacant WBC super-Bantamweight title.
00:23:39These two men fighting at a catch weight of 120 pounds.
00:23:46Derrick Morel has been pursued all three rounds
00:23:54by Abner Marez.
00:23:56Left hook, landing for Marez.
00:24:00Again, Derrick Morel standing straight up
00:24:02when he gets in the combat zone
00:24:05when he needs to get low.
00:24:08And Morel has allowed Marez to assault the body.
00:24:14As we take a look, we got some great fights
00:24:16on the right hand side of the ring.
00:24:18We're gonna take a look at the right hand side
00:24:20of the ring.
00:24:20We're gonna take a look at the left hand side
00:24:22of the ring.
00:24:23And Morel has allowed Marez to assault the body.
00:24:25As we take a look, we got some great fights
00:24:27on show extreme earlier tonight.
00:24:29Yeah, Luis Ramos won a unanimous decision
00:24:32over Daniel Ati.
00:24:33He's a good young prospect.
00:24:34And then in a surprise fight, Roland Bryant won by a TKO
00:24:39at 219 in round three over Librato Andrade,
00:24:42who was once a title contender, trying to get there again.
00:24:45And this sets him back considerably
00:24:47and certainly helps Bryant.
00:24:49Meanwhile, Francisco Vargas,
00:24:51a young prospect, defeated Rafael Lora by TKO.
00:24:55That came at 227 in round three.
00:24:57Now, not seen on show extreme,
00:25:00but on the undercard nonetheless, Antonio Escalante.
00:25:04Stopped Francisco Tamacho at two minutes into round four.
00:25:08So as usual, our show extreme fights undercard
00:25:11on show extreme, producing a lot of fun.
00:25:14And everybody's enjoying that.
00:25:16And I was impressed with Bryant.
00:25:17And whoever fights him, better guard your grill
00:25:20because you can't.
00:25:22You are right about that.
00:25:23He's a man.
00:25:26Abdoumarez in black and white,
00:25:28Eric Morrell in gold and white.
00:25:31We are in the fourth round, scheduled for 12.
00:25:36There was a little short hit in there
00:25:37and that combination as soon as they got
00:25:39to the ring in the middle,
00:25:41and it really shook Eric Morrell.
00:25:44He's gonna have to do something about getting hit
00:25:46with these hard shots.
00:25:48Morrell switches to lefty.
00:25:50He said to us in the meeting,
00:25:53I'm gonna be a magician in there.
00:25:54I'll do whatever it takes to win.
00:25:56Well, he's been put into a desperation mode,
00:25:58now trying something new, becoming a lefty.
00:26:05He's taking a lot of big shots.
00:26:07I mean, you can see that he's getting where,
00:26:10Abdoumarez is wearing him down.
00:26:11I mean-
00:26:12Mares, uppercut, double uppercut.
00:26:16Morrell trying to shoeshine on the ropes.
00:26:19Not moving, as we saw him move
00:26:22in the first couple of rounds.
00:26:25Mares, though, it looks like his punches are heavier,
00:26:28Al, and Antonio, than we've seen with Yanni Perez,
00:26:32with Vic Darcinian, and with the Beko.
00:26:34He's really sitting down on his punches
00:26:36like he's been doing a whole lot of bag work,
00:26:38and you see how he's starting to develop
00:26:41in terms of his muscularity.
00:26:43You know what?
00:26:44Hey, this may be the best way for him.
00:26:45I mean, at 18 and maybe took and zapped
00:26:48a lot of his power, a lot of his energy,
00:26:50but right now he seemed like he's found his home.
00:26:52I mean, 122, 126, maybe it's-
00:26:56And he had to make 120 for this,
00:26:58so that extra two pounds could help him a bit as well.
00:27:01There's the body work, and of course,
00:27:02he wants to do that against the 36-year-old Morrell,
00:27:05and Morrell's movement not there.
00:27:07That was the question we had.
00:27:08Could he still move?
00:27:09In a fight last year against Luis Maldonado,
00:27:12he did move very effectively, but in this one, no.
00:27:15You know why?
00:27:16Because those punches to the body
00:27:17and those big shots to the head,
00:27:19I mean, he's worn down now.
00:27:21He's not the same Eric Morrell when this fight started.
00:27:24Yep, you're right, because for the first minute and a half,
00:27:26we saw that movement.
00:27:31One thing we've noticed from Abner Marez,
00:27:34he's added kind of like a right hook to the body.
00:27:37He's going behind the elbow,
00:27:39and then he comes back with a looping right hand.
00:27:42Morrell trying to roll off the ropes,
00:27:44keeping his guard up high.
00:27:45And another thing, Gus,
00:27:46when Eric Morrell is pressed on the ropes
00:27:49and when Abner Marez come close,
00:27:51he looks to reach instead of punch.
00:27:54He's not in position to punch,
00:27:55and that's why he can't give Abner Marez any answers
00:27:58for those combinations.
00:28:00And there have been very few angles from Morrell.
00:28:02There were early,
00:28:03but he's pretty much right in front of Marez.
00:28:06Ooh, nice straight right hand by Morrell.
00:28:12Backs Marez up momentarily.
00:28:15And he's going to try to keep his distance.
00:28:23And we will listen in the both corners between rounds.
00:28:32Okay, just try to keep your space.
00:28:34And some more. Hit some more punches.
00:28:38You're going short sometimes.
00:28:41When he throws a jab, you throw your right hand.
00:28:44He's going back, so you got to cut the ring a little bit.
00:28:48We are winning the fight, but you got to cut the ring.
00:28:52And you got to move the waist.
00:28:54And you have to make sure that he comes in,
00:28:56and then you grab and you grab him with a big punch.
00:29:03If you maintain the distance, you're going to dominate him.
00:29:07He doesn't throw when you give him distance.
00:29:10You worked good, that ring.
00:29:11Keep breathing deep.
00:29:13Breathe deep, breathe deep.
00:29:15This is a big round.
00:29:18Let's go, let's go.
00:29:23We head into round number 5,
00:29:24scheduled for 12,
00:29:25for the vacant WBC super-Bantamweight title.
00:29:29The favorite, Abner Marez, 23 and 0,
00:29:33with one draw, 13 KOs.
00:29:36He's going to the super-Bantamweight division
00:29:39in the black and white.
00:29:41And Eric Murrell, 36 years old, former Olympian,
00:29:44as well in the gold and white,
00:29:47knowing that this is a do-or-die opportunity for him.
00:29:53One of the nuances that would be easy to miss in this fight
00:29:55is the fact that Marez's defense has been good.
00:29:58He has slipped a lot of punches by Murrell.
00:30:00And there he goes to the body again.
00:30:02That right hand.
00:30:05Murrell came out this round a little bit slicker.
00:30:07Looks as if he's gotten the cobwebs out of his head.
00:30:11There's a little nick on Eric Murrell's left eye.
00:30:15Don't know if it was a punch or a headbutt,
00:30:16but he came out a little bit sharper this time
00:30:19than this round, and we'll see if he can push forward
00:30:22and carry through this round.
00:30:23Small cut on the corner of the left eye for Murrell.
00:30:29The jab now starting to become more effective
00:30:32for Abner Marez as we take a look
00:30:34at the show stats, total power punches.
00:30:36And 33 of those 87 punches that Marez landed
00:30:40have been body shots,
00:30:41so he has gone downstairs with them.
00:30:43Get him, Murrell!
00:30:45Get him!
00:30:48It's gonna be important for Murrell to land something big,
00:30:51but we've turned the tide in this fight.
00:30:52I mean, Abner Marez is having his way,
00:30:54even though Murrell is fighting a good, solid fight
00:30:58for a guy that's coming up,
00:30:59but he has to do something big.
00:31:02You know, Marez last won a title,
00:31:05or held a title, eight years and four months ago.
00:31:09The longest between titles, I know you gentlemen know,
00:31:12George Foreman, 20 years in between holding titles.
00:31:19Big right hands again.
00:31:21Nice uppercut by Murrell, though,
00:31:23but it just doesn't stop Marez.
00:31:26That's a good combination by Murrell.
00:31:28He has to punch when Abner Marez comes forward.
00:31:31He has to surprise him with some punches.
00:31:33He can't just look to hold and absorb that punishment.
00:31:38Kamara's jab now on display again there
00:31:41is such a key weapon for him.
00:31:43When he jabs effectively, he is so much better.
00:31:46It keeps him in balance, and then he's not lunging,
00:31:49and he did it against Agbeko beautifully,
00:31:51and he's doing it again here tonight.
00:32:01Nice.
00:32:10Double left hook.
00:32:13Chopping with the right hand, Marez.
00:32:17As we come to the end of the fifth round.
00:32:20Now Murrell trying to flurry.
00:32:23He's going to win this fight.
00:32:30Former undisputed junior middleweight champion
00:32:33fighting at 160, and Kid Chocolate,
00:32:36Peter Quillen, who said that he's going to take
00:32:40Winky Wright to Pluto and then Austin Trout.
00:32:43And to tell you something, his fight against
00:32:45Delvin Rodriguez could be a fantastic fight.
00:32:47Rodriguez is a terrific fighter,
00:32:49and Austin Trout, a great boxer.
00:32:53For the vacant WBC super bantamweight title,
00:32:56Abner Marez has dominated this fight thus far
00:33:00in black and white.
00:33:02Eric Morrell trying to figure out
00:33:06this young 26-year-old's style.
00:33:09Right now, Marez way too aggressive.
00:33:12And the veteran that Eric Morrell is,
00:33:14I'm surprised that he hasn't really focused on the body.
00:33:17He's fighting a younger fighter,
00:33:18and it's very important that you get your two or three,
00:33:20you know, feet downstairs just to slow your opponent down.
00:33:23So when it does, the fight does get in the later rounds,
00:33:26you're both will be somewhat of a, you know, exhausted.
00:33:30Marez's story is such an interesting story.
00:33:33Moving to the United States at a young age
00:33:35in the Hawaiian Gardens section of the Los Angeles area,
00:33:41then having to be faced with gang life there,
00:33:46his father being tipped off that Marez
00:33:50was getting ready to be initiated,
00:33:52which basically meant a gang beatdown for initiation.
00:33:57His father came in town, told him to pack his bag,
00:34:01sent him to Mexico the next day.
00:34:02He lived in Mexico for three years by himself,
00:34:06had to figure things out at 15 years old.
00:34:09He went to the Mexican boxing Olympic training facility
00:34:16and said, I want to box here.
00:34:18Beat this guy, and you'll have room and board.
00:34:20He smashed him.
00:34:22Ended up on the Olympic team in 2004.
00:34:27What a story, Abner Marez.
00:34:31And he and Murrell in this round are engaging
00:34:34in really an interesting little firefight.
00:34:36Both men have landed good punches.
00:34:38Marez's have been a little harder,
00:34:40but Eric Murrell has been sharp with some of his punches,
00:34:42keeping him in the fight.
00:34:43And this is the type of fight that Eric Murrell's like.
00:34:46He's fighting at his pace.
00:34:47And this is what Abner Marez can't allow to happen,
00:34:50because this fight is not over yet,
00:34:52and Eric Murrell is still in there trying to win this fight.
00:34:55He needs to continue to press this fight
00:34:57and let Eric Murrell know that it's a different level at this,
00:35:01you know, where he's fighting at right now.
00:35:03The point you made earlier, which is a great one,
00:35:04was to slow the fight down.
00:35:06He's done it to an extent, although he just
00:35:08took a big left hook from Marez.
00:35:10And every time he gets on the ropes,
00:35:11that's a no-no for Eric Murrell.
00:35:13He needs to keep the fight in the center of the ring,
00:35:15and that's where he's going to be able to
00:35:17get the most out of the ring and box.
00:35:22But I'll tell you, Abner Marez looks good at this weight.
00:35:25He's comfortable, and, you know, his skin looks good,
00:35:28muscles, and I think he can go up a few more pounds
00:35:31and be strong.
00:35:32Certainly 122 will work.
00:35:33Here's another right hook by Marez.
00:35:36And the goal for all the fighters in this weight area
00:35:43is to capture these two men.
00:35:45Time!
00:35:56Nice and calm, nice and calm.
00:35:58That was a better round.
00:36:00You need to keep working.
00:36:02Okay, now let's work on the cut.
00:36:09Now he's slowing down.
00:36:11Listen to me. Listen to me.
00:36:14You're a veteran.
00:36:15Give him a... give him a class there.
00:36:19Well, he'd like to give some schooling to Abner Marez,
00:36:21but it's Marez using the double jab.
00:36:23Now, that was a nice counter right hand
00:36:25by Eric Morrell early in the round.
00:36:27And he was keeping his distance very well
00:36:29in early in the round, but then,
00:36:31as he pushes a right hand,
00:36:33he gets nailed with an overhead right by Marez.
00:36:35And as the round progressed, Marez did better.
00:36:37I had Eric Morrell winning
00:36:39the majority of that round,
00:36:41but, boy, when these shots like that
00:36:43at the end of the round, I think, you know,
00:36:45Abner Marez could have stolen that round.
00:36:47Yeah, it's possible.
00:36:50Seventh round of 12
00:36:53for the vacant WBC super-bantamweight title.
00:36:55Two former world champions
00:36:58at different stages of their careers.
00:37:01Abner Marez, the young gun at 26.
00:37:03Eric Morrell, 36 years old, on the other side,
00:37:08looking for one more big day.
00:37:17Looks like Eric Morrell is determined to press
00:37:19right now in this round.
00:37:21He's backing Abner Marez up a little bit,
00:37:23but he has to let his hand go, Gus.
00:37:25He just has to land something big,
00:37:27and I haven't seen it yet.
00:37:29Morrell very defensive in this fight.
00:37:32Our tweeters getting on the bandwagon
00:37:35for Marez Moreno, who, of course,
00:37:38has been in this fight for a long time.
00:37:39This fight's not over with yet,
00:37:41but we saw Anselmo Moreno perform very well,
00:37:44and we're seeing Marez perform well.
00:37:46And, you know, that's a great possibility
00:37:47because they're under the same promotion of banner.
00:37:50You know, normally, back in the day
00:37:52when Don Keane was promoting,
00:37:53he had both fighters in these championship fights.
00:37:55They thought it was a foreign thing to do,
00:37:57but right now, the only way to get those big fights
00:37:59are if they're under the same umbrella.
00:38:01You see what's going on with Pacquiao Mayweather.
00:38:04They can't do business.
00:38:07It's a great opportunity.
00:38:08It really helps, and we'd like to see more cooperation
00:38:11for the promoters, but in the event
00:38:14that you can do it within the same umbrella, you should.
00:38:18That would be a great fight.
00:38:19I like that tweet.
00:38:22Marez Moreno sounds good.
00:38:28Marez again working the body effectively.
00:38:31And yet Eric Morrell, it's interesting.
00:38:33You would have thought he would have worked it even more
00:38:35at this point with those shots.
00:38:37But he's not in there because he wants this fight.
00:38:40He's doing everything he can.
00:38:43All right, let's bring in Chuck Giappone
00:38:44with this unofficial scorecard.
00:38:46Yes, up to now, I have a shout-out for Abner Marez.
00:38:50What set the pace in the early part of the fight
00:38:52was that right at the end of round 1 for Marez,
00:38:55I don't think Morrell recovered from that.
00:38:59Although the 6th round was Morrell's best round,
00:39:02I don't think it was enough for him to win the round.
00:39:04I don't think it was Morrell's best round,
00:39:07but was it enough to win the round?
00:39:08I didn't think so.
00:39:12And the biggest change for Abner Marez in this fight,
00:39:15thank you very much, Chuck,
00:39:17is that he's educated that right hand.
00:39:20He's thrown it a number of different ways.
00:39:24Behind the elbow with the right hook,
00:39:25he's thrown it as a looping right hand,
00:39:28as a straight right hand,
00:39:30and also as a can-opening right hand,
00:39:32and that's going to put Abner Morrell
00:39:33a lot of problems in this fight tonight.
00:39:37Yeah, that overhand, he hasn't solved it.
00:39:39Like I said, I think he needs to get up under it.
00:39:41Instead, he's trying to catch it,
00:39:43and a lot of times, those punches land.
00:39:45There it is again.
00:39:46-♪
00:39:49-♪
00:39:51And an interesting spectator,
00:39:53Anselmo Moreno, who won his fight tonight.
00:39:58-♪
00:40:01As he defeated David De La Mora,
00:40:04stopping him in the ninth round.
00:40:08That's an inscrutable look on his face.
00:40:09Yeah, I don't think he's impressed with what he's seeing.
00:40:12It's interesting. Well, I got to be a little impressed.
00:40:16You know, we've talked about Marez,
00:40:19and we just talked about how good his right hand
00:40:21has been in this fight.
00:40:23He will work to the body with this right hand
00:40:26and then come with it to the head,
00:40:28and as Antonio pointed out earlier,
00:40:29against the ropes, not a good posture for Eric Morel.
00:40:33And then when Morel throws the left hook,
00:40:35it languishes out there,
00:40:37and there comes the right by Marez.
00:40:40It seems like Abner Marez, he got hit with a left hook,
00:40:43but he always finished what Eric Morel starts,
00:40:46and it keeps him ahead in this fight.
00:40:49Now Morel coming out, trying to start quickly.
00:40:52Smile, catches another looping right hand.
00:40:57One thing Marez has done tonight,
00:40:59he's been a very solid combination puncher.
00:41:02He's put his punches together
00:41:06and made Morel think about multiple things.
00:41:10He's also had very good defense in this fight.
00:41:12His defense has been excellent.
00:41:13He's slipped a lot of punches
00:41:15and blocked a number of them as well.
00:41:19Frank Espinosa, Marez's manager,
00:41:20is utterly convinced that Abner
00:41:22could become a superstar in the sport
00:41:25because of the abilities he's shown here
00:41:27and also because he has a fan base
00:41:28both in America and, of course, in Mexico as well.
00:41:31Short left hook by Marez as Morel ties him up.
00:41:36Ooh, another big looping right hand.
00:41:39That was after Morel landed a good combination.
00:41:41And that uppercut has found a home for Eric Morel.
00:41:44He's busted Abner Marez's nose
00:41:46and maybe, you know, cut him in the mouth.
00:41:48Another straight right hand by Eric Morel.
00:41:50Judo! Judo! Judo! Judo!
00:41:53Eric Morel normally is a very effective jabber,
00:41:57not so in this fight,
00:41:59and that was demonstrated in the last round
00:42:01where he was 0 for 8.
00:42:03That looks like my batting average
00:42:05during part of my baseball career.
00:42:07I know you hit better than me.
00:42:08Yes, I know.
00:42:11Not much better, Al.
00:42:13That's it!
00:42:14That's it!
00:42:16That's it!
00:42:18That's it!
00:42:19That's it!
00:42:22That's it, Eric!
00:42:25That's it!
00:42:26Well, Eric Morel is doing a good job
00:42:28of keeping this round in the center of the square.
00:42:31I mean, he doesn't really absorb
00:42:33a lot of punishment from there,
00:42:35and it gives him a good chance, or his best chance,
00:42:37to land something, some combination punches.
00:42:39And you made a great point earlier.
00:42:41that uppercut and it has done a little damage so if that's something the hang has had on anyone
00:42:58the big issue in round eight is can he in any way hurt
00:43:12oh that was a good kind of left hand by eric morel and it seemed like it stopped
00:43:28abnormal in his track the first one that i think got a reaction from him tomorrow
00:43:32nine seconds remaining in the eighth round abner marez eric morel
00:43:46with a vacant wbc superman and weight title
00:43:52eric morel's mom nereida velasquez watching her son
00:44:02we're losing we're losing the fight you need to tighten up
00:44:15let's put a little water on his head
00:44:20do we really have to pressure him now
00:44:25he's hurt come on eric attack him don't be in front of him but attack him
00:44:33the lateral movements will do the job give him some more water
00:44:47we begin the ninth round schedule for 12 with a vacant wbc super bantamweight title
00:44:52and thus far this fight has belonged to young abner marez in the black and white trunks
00:44:59as he takes on eric little hands of steel morel in the gold and white
00:45:15the story of this fight can be told in our short stat statistic that the average in this fight
00:45:21in this fight 61 thrown by mars for round landing 26 morel has averaged 40 punches thrown and nine
00:45:28landing
00:45:33foreign
00:45:48very good tweet there al one of our tweeters saying that he's surprised that morel hasn't
00:45:55used the jab and actually that is a very good point yeah hasn't been able to establish it
00:46:01now there he is against the ropes again in that terrible posture for him normally we'd see eric
00:46:06morel wheel off quickly he hasn't been able to do that no he's absorbed a lot of body shots and
00:46:11maybe that slowed him down a little bit but yeah the jab is his trademark i mean that's what you
00:46:16can pretty much count on from eric morel but uh for some reason he just abandoned it tonight
00:46:23are you here
00:46:27eric morel 12 and 2 in 12 round fights uh and uh maris is 4 0 and 1 but uh right now the punishment
00:46:36that morel has taken makes that record that 12 and 2 record not a statistic that might hold up
00:46:42and it looks like abner mars's timing has been very good when morel does jab he's been able
00:46:49to time him to throw that right hand over the top that looping right hand if i didn't get in
00:46:57eric morel's head i would believe that he's thinking uh maybe he's took some big big shots
00:47:02and maybe he feel like he got to land something big rather than trying to settle everything up
00:47:06with the jab yeah could be big left hook by morel an interesting point antonio he's behind so far
00:47:15he may be trying to set up that one punch anything might stun
00:47:18or hurt maris and there's the uppercut which has been his best punch
00:47:23although those two jabs were effective
00:47:28maris is kicking to the body he's catching a lot of that on his arms i mean i don't know if
00:47:33getting through to the point where it's causing a lot of harm but uh it still doesn't look good
00:47:38on the judges eye
00:47:58abner mars has this has been a scene that's been repeated throughout this fight with him
00:48:04pushing eric morel back and then working to both the body in the head and there's the body work
00:48:11now some of those blocks as antonio pointed out but there's the right hands getting in
00:48:15and that posture has just not been a good one for eric morel and there's the left the counter
00:48:21left that the well has tried to land during this fight but it just hasn't been as effective as he
00:48:26would like and when you throw that many body punches with somebody on the ropes you're gonna
00:48:30get credit for something don't open up you're opening up too much
00:48:45if eric morel wants to win this fight he's going to have to start taking some chances
00:48:50he's been very defensive this evening 10th round scheduled for 12 for the vacant wbc
00:48:58super bantamweight title abner marez in black and white eric morel in white and gold
00:49:08and it may be a clean sweep for abner marez at this point as we begin the 10th
00:49:16i gave one round some morale the eighth round but it's problematic and you could certainly not give
00:49:22up
00:49:24good interesting advice from uh clemente medina his trusted and longtime trainer abner don't open
00:49:30up we're opening up too much they don't want him to get wild and open up because you could get it
00:49:34with something up the middle yeah especially when you see eric morel still trying yes i mean he's
00:49:40not he hadn't quit haven't given up so he's still in there trying to land something good
00:49:46that's good corner work when you're ahead by this much and your corner is telling you the
00:49:50right stuff that's that's important wow nice exchange
00:50:06eric has landed some power punches in this fight and some good ones
00:50:10he just hasn't been able to hurt abner marez to the point where he can then follow up on it
00:50:16now
00:50:18and maris has been so consistent in his effort
00:50:29interestingly abner maris has never knocked out anyone after round eight so we'll see if
00:50:35he can turn that around here against eric morale he's not had him down he's had him
00:50:38stunned several times no knockdowns as you mentioned down in this fight
00:50:46manedonio eric morale has so much experience although he is far behind on the scorecards
00:50:54you know that he knows how to survive in there and that's what we are seeing him do right right
00:50:59he's taking a lot of good shots out but he's he sucked it up i mean he knows that it's important
00:51:04that if he can't win this fight he has to at least give a hundred percent effort and i think
00:51:08that's what he's giving us tonight and he's still trying yeah to land that big shot he's strong
00:51:13punches it's not like he's in a shell defensively there's a nice combination it just can't hurt
00:51:18maris maris a moment ago landed a really close for comfort and to abner mars credit every time
00:51:24eric morale lands a couple shots he makes sure that he finished what eric morale started and
00:51:29it's hard to like i said get on top of a guy that's doing that
00:51:40oh
00:51:56frustration by morale he thought he was hit a little late by maris and responded
00:52:10let's take a look at the end of the round we'll see what transpired
00:52:14there was a nice hook now at this point the bell rang it rang just before that
00:52:18and i think morale thought he was hit a little late and then apologized to maris afterwards
00:52:24so
00:52:29after mars kind of lunging with those punches
00:52:31and here's where the right hand comes afterwards
00:52:53oh
00:53:23yeah in the 11th round scheduled for 12 for the vacant wbc super bantamweight title is that
00:53:35abner marez is cruising morale just landed a solid right hand and another one these two best
00:53:41punches of the fight it's interesting he's still throwing he's still trying as antonio pointed out
00:53:48now another reality is chuck chiapas unofficial scorecard yes uh gus i still haven't shut out
00:53:57the last round morale fought well but not enough to win the round in my estimation and i think the
00:54:03frustration is getting to him i really believe that the referee should have taken a point for
00:54:08that late hit uh matters was completely defenseless he was walking back to his corner
00:54:14and you want to avoid anything in the last two rounds of a cheap shot
00:54:19thank you very much chuck mar is still working what i like about what abner marez has done this
00:54:23evening is he's worked all three minutes of every round in this fight and that goes to show you that
00:54:30this guy's this young guy's focus and this young guy's condition he understands like i said they're
00:54:35riding him man they bring in one big name after another and i don't think it's going to start
00:54:39with eric morale now there are a lot of big fights as we mentioned at 122 and you know he's
00:54:45going to get some wow that was beautiful i never knew eric morale had a chin like this i mean this
00:54:52guy is taking some really yeah serious shots tonight from a hard puncher abdelmar left hook
00:55:00connecting for morale with 44 seconds to go in the 11th in terms of toughness you cannot question
00:55:07and you know you made the point antonio this was a desperation do or die situation
00:55:12eric has fought with that urgency just hasn't been effective and those power punches dramatic
00:55:18and so many of those are body punches when you land 57 percent of your power punches
00:55:23as marez is doing it's a good night's work right hand left hook by marez he says bring it on old
00:55:31man you know they're creating a very nice 11th rough deer this has been a fun round to watch
00:55:37and that's the end of the round
00:55:49felix de jesus will go into the red corner of marez
00:55:56um
00:56:13we need the left hook to open up last round be careful be careful but be alive
00:56:20marez was able to land this kind of floyd patterson-esque left hook lunging forward and
00:56:27landing that punch and then there's the straight right hand now interestingly see how morale
00:56:31countered it but it didn't have enough power to stop mars from landing a subsequent left hook
00:56:36which speaks to antonio's point he's finishing everything morale does but he has that nose
00:56:42so the 12th and final round for the vacant wbc super bantamweight title abner marez moving up
00:56:51in weight going for the bigger names the bigger people the bigger names the bigger
00:56:5812 and final round for the vacant wbc super bantamweight title abner marez moving up in weight
00:57:08going for the bigger names the bigger paydays taking on a veteran here and he is shining in
00:57:17his first fight at 120 they fought they are fighting at a catch weight of 120 instead of 122
00:57:25you know they're creating something special in this round though eric reynolds fighting back
00:57:29a 36 year old fighting back in round 12 this may be a one-sided fight but i think it has
00:57:35this crowd on its feet yeah you got to commend him man i mean this may be his last chance at uh
00:57:42that that mountaintop so he's letting it all hang out right now you have to respect that
00:57:47and abner maris staying very focused with those combinations there it is maris
00:57:58so sharp
00:58:02gets in for morel
00:58:09if this is the last major fight and it might be for eric morel in his career
00:58:14he has nothing to feel ashamed of fighting the excellent young
00:58:18champion who is a veteran of seven years also at and performing at this level
00:58:26i'll tell you what when you look at what abner marez has done over the last five fights and who
00:58:32he's taken on and the adversity that he's been faced with and some of the mistakes that he made
00:58:39first fight with the back though all the low blows also gives big garcinia
00:58:43low blows and look at him banging out he wants to close this show and eric morel
00:58:49is giving him opportunities to do that when you look at quality of opposition
00:58:53only one fighter you know the fighter of the year and andre ward had i think a tougher go
00:58:59at it when you look at the super six tournament after that you have to look at abner morris
00:59:04oh big right hands by marez and that may have hurt morel 37 seconds remaining morel
00:59:11fighting off the rope marez would love to finish off the veteran but morel says nothing doing
00:59:18youngster you may beat me but you won't stop me i'm not going out like that 20 seconds to go in
00:59:26the 12th the old dog versus the young dog and we'll see that in early june as well
00:59:41two world champions toe-to-toe and that's it
00:59:45it
00:59:51and an appreciative crowd here in el paso
01:00:04abner marez
01:00:05could improve his record to 24 all in one
01:00:16and pick up his second world championship
01:00:23for the people that are cynical about boxing or boxers they only need look at that 12th round eric
01:00:29morel behind on every scorecard certainly not going to win and probably wasn't going to knock
01:00:35abner morris out but antonio he stood there and he slugged with him and created a special moment
01:00:40you got to take your hat off to him and to abner morris you're right about that ab but uh we're
01:00:44still in texas baby we oh man you had to say that so wow okay
01:00:54so let's take a look at what we saw with abner inside the ropes all right let's go inside the
01:01:00ropes this fight in microcosm and it started out early uh after a good start by morella round one
01:01:07mara's hurting him with overhand rights that was the moment where he had him in trouble early in
01:01:12the fight and that overhand right was a repeated weapon and the bodywork by abner maris those were
01:01:18the two signature punches along with the jab which helped set everything up good hand speed by maris
01:01:25and and these power punching was just impeccable in this fight
01:01:33and they would battle it out right to the end all right
01:01:36we're ready for the decision let's go inside the ring and jimmy lennon jr
01:01:46ladies and gentlemen after 12 rounds of action we go to the scorecards with a unanimous decision
01:01:52here the score totals judging ringside duane ford sees about 120 to 107 judges raul valencia
01:02:03and don griffin both scores about 119 to 109 all three in favor of the winner and now the wbc
01:02:14super bantamweight champion of the world the undefeated
01:02:28abner mares the new wbc super bantamweight champion he's now won two world championships
01:02:36in two divisions mares improves his record to 2401 in just a sterling performance by this 26
01:02:45year old yeah and when you look at abner mars i can truly say that he's grown up in front of our
01:02:50eyes i mean he's now fighting like a veteran a poised champion and uh when you look at the
01:02:56troubles he had to go overcoming victor d'archenian fight and uh yane perez fight the first one he's
01:03:02grown now he's not getting hit with those big big shots and having these guys cut him and hurt him
01:03:07he got through there with just a busted nose and uh he's learned and our jim gray is standing by
01:03:13with the new champion all right gus thank you very much abner congratulations to you was this
01:03:19the most precise the sharpest that you have fought in your career i think so i think so uh the style
01:03:24helped me out a lot uh even though he's a great fighter i mean great technical fighter but i was
01:03:29able to kind of you know pretty much pinpoint my my shots i felt good uh eric was strong he took a
01:03:36lot of a lot of good shots good strong shots that i that i threw but um i felt felt sharp i felt
01:03:42really good were you surprised he was able to withstand all this pressure and all of your
01:03:46landing of those power punches i was really i thought uh seriously i even told my corner you
01:03:50know what uh with one of these overhand rights i'm uh he's gonna go down but he was able to
01:03:56sustain sustain the power he uh he went out like a champ the 12 round i think was a great round for
01:04:02for both of us and i've always said it i'd rather give the fans 12 great fight
01:04:07throughout the 12 great rounds and then the first second now raka how much do you notice your
01:04:12improvement i i feel it i i just know at my corner i know i'm gonna go home right now and watch the
01:04:18tape and obviously you know see what i did wrong and and keep him keep on improving because i know
01:04:23i am still learning i'm still young where what can you improve a lot of mistakes i i was throwing
01:04:29my jab really good then i i stopped i let the fight you know get more complicated i try to make
01:04:34it into abroad when i'm not supposed to but at the end of the day you know it's a learning process
01:04:39eric morel great champion great fighter and he gave me a hell of a fight congratulations
01:04:43it was terrific to watch you tonight all right eric thank you my boy
01:04:51great fighter thank you thank you eric you have a lot to be proud of i'm just wondering
01:04:56how you feel this might have gone had it been 10 years ago in your career not his
01:05:03i mean the time really doesn't matter you know uh he probably would have done the same thing
01:05:11um he's a great fighter i mean there's no doubt about it he's uh one of the best fighter i ever
01:05:17fought i've faced in and i'll be back i promise i promise i'll be back um and hopefully you know
01:05:25i'll get a rematch well i don't know that we'll see that but good luck with whatever you decide
01:05:29to do thank you all right gus back to you and thank you very much jim great night of boxing
01:05:36here on showtime highlighted by that young man but in our first bout and selmo moreno scored two
01:05:45knockdowns of david de la mora who ended up calling it quits 10 seconds into round number
01:05:50nine as moreno retained his wba bantamweight title and selmo moreno very impressive and in
01:06:02our main event abner marez controlled his bout against eric morel as he
01:06:09cruised to a unanimous decision and capturing the vacant wbc
01:06:12super bantamweight belt his second world title in his second weight class
01:06:20now for my broadcast partner the international hall of famer al bergstein the five-time world
01:06:26champion antonio tarver and the coolest man in the ring jim gray this is scott johnson saying
01:06:32so long from el paso texas you've been watching showtime championship boxing
01:06:56so
01:07:27so
01:07:45so
01:07:57so
01:08:17showtime extreme it's more of what you need
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