'El Michoacano" Miguel Flores just turned 30 years old last month and has already had a rollercoaster of a career. After turning pro back in 2009 without much attention, and fanfare, Flores put in his time and grinded. Traveling all over the great Republic of Texas he built up a 23-0 record. He scored impressive high-action wins on big stages against Ryan Kielczweski, Mario Briones, and others. Flores got himself signed by PBC and signed with manager Luis DeCubas. He was in line for a title fight and had offers to fight then IBF champion Lee Selby. An opportunity he declined and opted for a homecoming fight in Houston against fringe contender Dat Nguyen. That's when things went sideways in a hurry. In a shocking upset, he got stopped by Nguyen in the sixth round in what appeared to be a quick stoppage by referee Laurence Cole. Cole was the same referee who was the third man in the ring in the fight that Flores's older brother, Benjamin, tragically passed away from just days later. "El Michoacano" returned to the ring just five months later against Chris Avalos. Flores dropped and dominated his opponent when the bout was called to a halt due to a cut. The cut was ruled to be from a legal punch and not a butt. Avalos was declared the winner, VIA 5th round TKO, in a fight, he was being beaten up and dominated.
Flores bounced back nicely and scored two consecutive stoppage victories before getting a call that he was going to fight Leo Santa Cruz for the 130-Pound Super Featherweight title. Flores took the fight at four pounds above his best weight saying, "we can make 126. I don't want to say easy, but that's what I prefer. We fought at 130 with Leo when the opportunity presented itself because we can't pass up on an opportunity like that." Flores fought valiantly with the future Hall of Famer but came up just short, dropping a close competitive decision. Flores proved he belonged with the elite 126 & 130 pounders. He then lost a follow-up fight with Eduardo Ramirez before beating up fringe contender Diuhl Olguin last June.
Flores now prepares for a career-defining fight with former 3-division world champion Abner Flores in the legend’s hometown of Los Angeles at the Crypto.com Arena. Flores is again jumping up in weight and not to 130 this time, but up to the lightweight limit of 135. He has no hesitation in moving up in weight again saying, "Mares wanted it at 135. He has his reasons. I am sure he was up there in weight and didn't want to do that big weight cut. He's not a natural 135-pounder, so it's not like we're going in there fighting a natural 135. His best days were at 118 and 122. He could have said we're fighting at 140 and I would have said fine.... 135 just means I am going to be fully healthy, I am eating well, and I am staying strong. It's one less thing we have to worry about is losing that extra few pounds."
Flores took the challenge without hesitation and gave credit to Mares for taking such a big challenge "He [Mares] didn't want a soft touch. He coulda got a guy he was positive he could knock out in five, six rounds. I am sure they threw a couple of names at him, and he picked me because I still have a valuable name. I still gave Santa Cruz a good war." Flores isn't showing up to be an opponent. He's not showing up to be a stepping stone in the comeback of a legend. He has put in an incredible camp and plans on using Mares' name to catapult himself back into a world title fight" His name still holds a lot of value, being a three-division world champion, a four-time world champion. His name holds a lot of value, people are gonna see dang he beat Abner Mares. It's going to open a lot of doors for me. Hopefully, it opens up another world title shot down the line. It's going to bring more money. We're prizefighters. It's going to bring more money to me and that's what we're looking for."
The Texan knows what's on the line and knows what to expect, " It's two Mexicans going at it. There's gonna be blood, there's gonna be hooks, there's gonna be body shots, there's gonna be a little bit of everything." He went on to say "I want to give the fans an exciting fight, but I want it to be a one-sided exciting fight. I had one of those, against Mario Briones a couple of years ago. It was an all-action fight but it was a one-sided sided fight. I dominated but he came and gave it his all. That's what I plan to do this September 4th." He plans on shutting up the Mares' hometown fans. He's confident of the win. A win that will propel his career and get him back to where he's supposed to be, near the top of the 126 and 130-pound divisions. Flores had an extremely testing camp, pushing hard through the extreme Texas heat " I'm confident in the work we've put in ...man this summer in Houston has been Hot! The crazy thing is we dont turn the AC on in the gym. It's 96 degrees at 9,10 in the morning. It feels like 120 with all the people in there. Bobby [Benton] is my main guy for this fight and he's the one coming up with the game plan. We're working on a couple of different things. Bobby is a world-class level trainer he's got Regis [Prograis] he's got O'shaquie Foster he's taken all those guys and put all those guys in the top five of their divisions. We've been working on a great game plan and you guys are gonna see that on September 4th. We've been grinding, it's been hell up in that gym, and God willing September 4th it's all gonna pay off."
Now, just weeks away from the career-defining fight against a ring legend, the now 30-year-old Texan remains ultra confident when asked for a prediction. A calm and ready Flores replied " My prediction is I am going to come away with the victory. I don't know how, but I am confident in myself and I am confident in the work I have done with my team that we are going to come away with this win."