Former champions Abner Mares, Fernando Montiel to meet on CBS

Abner Mares, left, and Leo Santa Cruz exchange punches during their featherweight fight on Aug. 29 at Staples Center.

Feb. 3, 2016 5 AM PT

Southland fighter and former three-division world champion Abner Mares will return to the ring March 12 in the co-main event with the Keith Thurman-Shawn Porter welterweight title fight on CBS.

Mares (29-2-1, 15 knockouts) will meet Mexico’s Fernando Montiel (54-5-2, 39 KOs), a 36-year-old former three-division world champion, in a featherweight bout.

“They’re both coming off difficult losses, but it’s a fun fight -- a crossroads fight,” said Lou DiBella, who’s promoting the Premier Boxing Champions card at the Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut. “The winner’s back on track, the loser has to rethink things.”

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Mares, 30, suffered a majority-decision loss to unbeaten featherweight world champion Leo Santa Cruz on Aug. 29 at Staples Center.

But the Hawaiian Gardens product looked sharp in the competitive bout, appearing more like the fighter who captured belts in three divisions during an 18-month stretch from late 2011 to May 2013.

In Montiel, Mares will confront a former bantamweight champion who lost his belt to Nonito Donaire in 2011, then was defeated by Lee Selby by unanimous decision on Oct. 14 in an International Boxing Federation featherweight title bout.

“The key for us in composing a telecast is finding action-packed, entertaining fights. That’s what Abner Mares always brings, and that’s what Fernando Montiel has a reputation for,” said Showtime Vice President Stephen Espinoza, whose network is producing the bout for its parent network.

Mares-Montiel also strives to expand the audience for the Thurman-Porter World Boxing Assn. welterweight title, appealing to the West Coast.

“We’re trying to cover all the bases. A Hispanic audience ... the hard-core fan, the casual fan. I expect this to do very well,” Espinoza said after another Premier Boxing Champions card Jan. 23 on Fox (Danny Garcia-Robert Guerrero) drew 1.6 million viewers.

“I like to stop short of predicting total viewership, but the main event is one of the most highly anticipated fights that can be made and it now has some strong support on the undercard,” Espinoza said.

The fight card will be preceded by two Big Ten Conference men’s basketball semifinals and the Mountain West Conference final.

Follow Lance Pugmire on Twitter @latimespugmire