Abner Mares vs Andres Gutierrez

The ending required several minutes of explanation before the verdict became clear. What first appeared to be a stoppage victory for Abner Mares was changed to a technical decision after officials ruled that accidental clashes of heads had contributed to the damage around Andres Gutierrez’s left eye. The scorecards nevertheless left no uncertainty about the contest itself. Mares retained the WBA regular featherweight championship by margins of 100-90 and 99-91 twice.

The bout took place at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, on October 14, 2017, with Mares making the first defence of the title he had taken from Jesus Cuellar ten months earlier. The champion entered with a record of 30 wins, two defeats and one draw, while Gutierrez stood at 35-1-1. Gutierrez had been due to fight Carl Frampton in Belfast in July, only for the contest to be cancelled when he suffered cuts and other injuries in a fall shortly before the weigh-in. He was now given another opportunity against a seasoned champion who had already won recognised titles at bantamweight, super-bantamweight and featherweight.

There was little prolonged reconnaissance. After a cautious opening minute, Mares began moving in behind quick combinations, striking and stepping away before Gutierrez could establish the heavier, more physical contest he wanted. The challenger advanced squarely and looked to force Mares towards the ropes, but his feet were too slow and his upper body too upright. Mares found him with the jab, followed it with the right hand and varied his attack by bringing hooks and uppercuts through the centre.

Damage appeared around Gutierrez’s left eye during the second round. Mares immediately recognised the weakness and repeatedly drove his right hand towards it. Gutierrez continued to press, but the blood and the champion’s faster hands made his task increasingly difficult. Accidental contacts between their heads complicated the injury, an important detail when the eventual result was determined. Mares used his feet well enough to avoid being held in prolonged exchanges, yet he remained close enough to deliver two, three and sometimes four punches before turning away. Gutierrez was willing, but too readily available.

Mares maintained his superiority in the third, beating the challenger to the punch and catching him as he came forward. Gutierrez produced better work in the fourth and fifth rounds, when he pressed with greater purpose and made the contest more physical. Even then, Mares usually finished the exchanges. His punches were shorter and more accurate, while Gutierrez’s wider blows gave the champion time to move, block or answer. There were no knockdowns, but the difference in speed and precision was pronounced.

The same pattern continued through the sixth and seventh rounds. Gutierrez kept advancing and showed considerable resolution, although he could not close the distance without taking punches. Mares boxed from side to side, changed the angle after attacking and caught his man with the uppercut whenever Gutierrez leaned forward. By then the challenger’s face was plainly marked, and the cut required continual attention between rounds. His corner kept him in the contest, but there was no sustained passage in which he appeared likely to reverse it.

A second opening around the damaged eye was apparent in the eighth, and blood began running freely down Gutierrez’s face. He repeatedly wiped at it with his glove, further interrupting an attack that was already being broken by Mares’s movement. Gutierrez enjoyed a modest improvement in the ninth through persistence rather than technical success, forcing the champion to work and finding occasional punches inside. Mares remained composed, tied him up when necessary and resumed scoring as soon as there was room to punch.

Mares increased his output in the tenth and struck Gutierrez with a succession of clean blows as the blood worsened. Referee Jack Reiss called time and brought the ringside physician onto the apron. The examination ended the contest at 2 minutes 40 seconds of the round. Because accidental fouls had contributed to the facial damage, the completed and partial rounds were sent to the judges rather than recorded as a technical knockout. Mares had landed 283 of 808 punches, while Gutierrez connected with 152 of 580, figures consistent with the wide official verdict.

The victory moved Mares to 31-2-1 and preserved the proposed return contest with Leo Santa Cruz, who stopped Chris Avalos later on the same programme. Gutierrez suffered only his second professional defeat and earned credit for remaining on his feet under steady punishment, but courage could not compensate for his difficulties with the champion’s movement, timing and combination punching. Mares had controlled the contest from the opening round until the physician intervened, and the unusual procedure at the finish altered neither the course of the fight nor the justice of the result.

I thought Mares looked a level above Gutierrez from the opening round. His feet were quicker, his combinations shorter, and he understood when to step away rather than stand and trade. Gutierrez was game, but far too easy to hit, and once the cut opened around his left eye, Mares kept finding it with the right hand. The technical decision caused some confusion, but not controversy. Scores of 100-90 and 99-91 twice were fair. Mares had outboxed and outfought him, keeping alive the far more attractive rematch with Leo Santa Cruz.