Leo Santa Cruz might be one of the PBC's smallest fighters, but he packs the punch of a giant.
After winning world titles at 118 and 122 pounds, Leo Santa Cruz (30-0-1, 17 KOs) is launching his assault on the 126-pound division Saturday night in a showdown with Abner Mares (29-1-1, 15 KOs) at Staples Center in Los Angeles (ESPN, 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT).
In order to ensure that his step up in weight also resulted in a corresponding weight gain, Santa Cruz enlisted the help of longtime family friend and personal trainer Andy Aguilar.
Aguilar’s mission was simple, yet complex: increase Santa Cruz’s KO power without losing any of “El Terremoto’s” ability to throw punches in bunches.
“The biggest factor here is strength and power,” Aguilar says. “We just have to keep up his conditioning, which shouldn’t be a problem. But I have to tweak his strength a little bit to have that power combined with his volume punching.”
For complete coverage of Santa Cruz vs Mares, visit our fight page.
