Adan Mares Hopes To Reach Title Dream Like Abner

By Salvador Rodriguez

Featherweight prospect Adan Mares (1-0, 1KOs), the younger brother of bantamweight sensation and former Olympian Abner Mares, is hoping to achieve the same dream as his older brother.

As an amateur, he compiled a respectable record of 45-5 and many called him a brilliant talent. However, he went down a difficult road and lost his dream of going to the Olympic games. But now, after making his professional debut, he wants to recover all of the time that he lost in a California prison.

"At a young age, I always had dreams of being world champion and doing something in boxing, but I surrounded myself with bad friends, I made bad decisions, I took a few bad steps and paid the price with five years in prison," Mares said.

After five months of freedom, Adan is training in Tijuana with don Rómulo Quirarte.  In his pro debut, he knocked out Francisco Cervantes in a round and he's already scheduled to fight on March 17 in Los Mochis, as part of the undercard to the lightweight title clash between Antonio DeMarco and Miguel Román.

"I did very well as an amateur. I had 50 fights and only lost five. I remember that we were in the playoffs to see who would go to the Beijing Olympics. I went to California, I was 17 years old. I got into a fight and the [other] boy was very hurt and they gave me five years [in prison] but I never stopped dreaming," Mares said.

Adan, 22-years-old, always looked up to his older brother Abner, who is 26.

"We were always together. I made some mistakes and I struggled a lot, but I don't want to give up. When I was locked up I studied, I exercised; I have accomplished a big dream, which was my debut, and now I won't stop until I become a world champion, like my brother," Adan said.

"My brother promised me that when I got out, he was going to be world champion. But now it's my turn to make history, and to prove to people that no matter what has happened, regardles of the mistakes that you commit - if you stay strong you can still achieve you dreams."

Besides his brother, Adan has found a new motivation.

"My wife is pregnant, she is already four months along, which undoubtedly gives me a great motivation to continue training strong and to fulfill my dreams," he said.