By Luis Sandoval

This Saturday night in El Paso, TX Abner Mares will be moving up a weight class and fighting for his second world title when he takes on veteran Eric Morel for the vacant WBC Super Bantamweight title on Showtime Championship Boxing. Mares is coming off arguably his biggest and most dominant victory over Joseph Agbeko and is looking to keep his undefeated streak rolling.

His opponent Eric Morel is no spring chicken and while some maybe looking over the former 1996 Olympian, Mares is preparing for a tough fight. He understands that while Morel may be older in age, he makes up for that in skill.

“I’m getting ready for Eric Morel, not a 37 year old. Yes, he has 37 years of age but he was out of boxing for quite some time. He hasn’t been in wars so he really isn’t done. I trained hard and I know it’s going to be a tough fight. Like you said, he’s a well schooled fighter, he’s really good. He has really good technique. He was an Olympian, he went to the Olympics in 1996 so all around he’s a good boxer and I expect a tough fight. God willing we’ll come out with our hands up” said Mares.

For the better part of the last 2 years, Mares has had a tough and grueling fight schedule that included the best fighters his division had to offer. Not only has he continuously tested himself against the elite, he’s also had to overcome and deal with different circumstances in the ring. Mares believes going through those experiences has indeed prepared him and have helped him reach where he’s at today.

“You mature faster. You grow faster in the sport. I pretty much at a young age have gone through everything already. From [being] knocked down, to cuts, to having points taken away, to people talking to me. So you know you can’t let it get to your head. You use it as fuel to train harder and work harder and show people different. I definitely think I’m mentally prepared, I’m always mentally strong and obviously all these last 4 fights I’ve had definitely got me the experience and make me ready for each and every fight” explained Mares.

Mares hopes to keep his undefeated record intact and add a second world title to his growing resume when he takes on Eric Morel. In one of his last training sessions before leaving to Texas, Mares sparred 3 rounds and finished his usual training routine with trainer Clemente Medina. Mares looked sharp and assured he’s 100% ready for his fight Saturday night.

You can follow Luis Sandoval on Twitter @Truewest007. You can also tune in to The Boxing Lab, Boxingscene’s official audio show every Tuesday from 6-8PM PST with hosts Ernest Gabion, Luis Sandoval, and Ryan Burton.