Abner Mares did not get the result he expected on his return after four years out of the sport.
The former three-division champion and Miguel Flores fought to a majority draw in a 10-round lightweight bout on the Andy Ruiz Jr.-Luis Ortiz card Saturday in Los Angeles.
One of the judges scored it for Mares, 96-94. The other two had it 95-95.
Mares (31-3-2, 15 KOs) was off to a fast start, particularly in a dominant Round 3. In that frame, he landed right hand overhand after another and seemed to hurt Flores (25-4-1, 13 KOs).
At that time it seemed that Mares would put on a sensational performance.
However, inexplicably, he switched to a stick-move-grab mode beginning in the fourth round, giving the more aggressive Flores a chance to get back into the fight.
Flores appeared to get the better of Mares in the second half of the fight to even him on the cards.
Still, Mares thought he did enough to get the go-ahead.
“Obviously it had been more than four years, so it was a little bit out of time and a little bit slow,” he said. “But I felt good and I thought I was landing the most powerful punches every time.”
Added the Los Angeles-area resident: “After four years, I did enough to beat a little kid and an active wrestler. My performance speaks for itself. The crowd was happy and it felt good to be home.
“I definitely felt like I won, but it is what it is. The judges saw a draw.”
