By Luis Sandoval

An anticipated rematch between Abner Mares and Jhonny Gonzalez which was set for February was cancelled due to an injury sustained by Mares during training. Mares had a rib injury that forced him to withdraw from the fight and now a new date is being discussed.

BoxingScene caught up with Mares as he was in attendance at the Saul Alvarez-Alfredo Angulo press conference in Los Angeles and asked how he’s feeling after the injury and the status of the rematch.

“The fight right now is postponed. I got hurt during sparring; during my second week of sparring actually. In Mexico City, I was out there training and you know, I wasn’t going to give any advantages. I had to take 2 weeks off from training and I wasn’t going to do that and still fight. I’m definitely not going in disadvantaged for this fight. If I’m going in there and I’m going to beat Johnny Gonzalez, I have to be at 100%” Mares told BoxingScene.

A fighter getting injured and sidelined is nothing new as we see it happen often. Some injuries take longer to recover from but Mares is already feeling much better and despite suffering a setback, he wants to step right back in with Gonzalez and forego any interim fights. Even going further, Mares informs he has been offered other fights and has a surprise in store for us.

“I want to go in straight man. You know me, I’ve been known for not taking an easy fight in I don’t know how long. This is going to be it. I’m going to fight Jhonny [Gonzalez] and hey, I’m getting other fights offered to me that I might take as well. So it’s up in the air right now. You guys might be surprised who I end up choosing and it’ll be interesting” informed Mares.

Showtime Sports Executive Vice President Stephen Espinoza and Golden Boy Promotions are trying to find a new date for this fight. Mares is hopeful they can find a date in April or if not, he’d love to be part of Mayweather’s undercard in May.

“I’m feeling great so far. I mean it’s been 3 weeks, going on a month already since it happened. And like I told you guys, it was not a fracture; it was a bruised rib. It was just a punch and I had to take time off and it’s got better. I mean from 1 to 100, I feel like I’m at a 98 right now to be honest. I’m back in training and hopefully we can get April if not, the Mayweather undercard would be great”.

You can follow Luis Sandoval on  Twitter & Instagram @Truewest007.