Tonight I have Marquez and I am going against the grain with Perez.
I think the fight has been made for Mares, and he might win, but I have HUGE respect for Perez.
I watched the Mabuza fight and the Agbeko fights.
I thought Mabuza was outboxing him, but just couldn't keep up with the pace and the stoppage was correct. And I thought Perez clearly beat Agbeko.
A lot of times form holds in the pros when old amateur foes meet (Mosley-Forrest). But not always.
The professional game might fit Perez a little better. As weasel mentioned, Mares has a bit of a slapping style at times.
I could see Mares winning this on points, but I could also see a Kevin Mitchell-Michael Katisidis situation where Perez relentlessly mauls Abner and bangs him out of there. You just don't know until you step up to world level, what a young fighter really is made of.
I do think, in the end, that the fight will go the distance and it will be close. The key to Mares winning, is his footwork, combinations, and BODY WORK.
Graham wrote an excellent preview here:
http://www.fightwriter.com/?q=node/2709
This will be a great fight and my Marquez bet will be MUCH bigger than my Perez bet. I think Vasquez is all done.
Good luck guys.
:toast:
