:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/assets/1073668/001MaresandMorelIMG_0352.jpg)
Tomorrow night on Showtime from the Don Haskins Convention Center in El Paso, Abner Mares faces Eric Morel for the vacant WBC super bantamweight title, while Anselmo Moreno defends his WBA "super" bantamweight belt against David De La Mora. Bad Left Hook will have live round-by-round coverage of the full event from 7 p.m. EDT (starting with the SHO Extreme prelims). Today, the fighters weighed in.
For the main event, both fighters came in light for the 122-pound limit, with Mares tipping the scales at 119½, and Morel at 120. Neither man has ever really been a super bantamweight before, with Mares (23-0-1, 13 KO) vacating his IBF bantamweight title to move up for this fight. Morel (46-2, 23 KO) is a former flyweight titleholder and super flyweight contender, but has never been what you might call a serious contender above either weight. Both are really stepping up from 118 for this one, and given the light weight for Mares, it makes one wonder why he's going up at all, given that there probably aren't many better fights for him at 122 than there are at 118.
Mares vs Morel Preview | Moreno vs De La Mora Preview | Final Press Conference
Unless Mares overtrained for this fight, it would seem on the surface that he would still be able to make 118, but maybe not. After all, Brandon Rios weighed in at 137 last weekend, which was "just" two pounds over the lightweight limit, but over is over, and two pounds or one-and-a-half pounds don't just go away. Unlike Rios, Mares doesn't appear to be terribly drained, because, of course, he wasn't trying to make 118. It's always better to come in two-and-a-half pounds light than two pounds over because you chose the wrong weight class again.
Moreno and De La Mora both weighed in at 117½ for their fight, a half-pound under the bantamweight limit. Moreno (32-1-1, 11 KO) is the favored man in the bout, but De La Mora (24-1, 17 KO) has been in the ring with a southpaw world titlist before, and didn't fare poorly. If everything breaks right for the young Mexican, this could turn into a very interesting fight.
All photos by Tom Casino/Showtime
