LOS ANGELES -- Abner Mares attacked relentlessly on the way to a unanimous decision over Anselmo Moreno on Saturday night, defending his WBC 122-pound title and handing Moreno his first defeat in a decade. Leo Santa Cruz also defended his IBF bantamweight title, stopping Victor Zaleta in the ninth round of a brutal fight on a thoroughly entertaining card at Staples Center. Alfredo Angulo stopped Raul Casarez with a single left hook 56 seconds into the first round, making a dramatic return to the ring after a year away. Earlier, Welsh light heavyweight Nathan Cleverly defended his WBO title with an eighth-round stoppage of Shawn Hawk. Mares (25-0-1) rarely stopped moving forward in a fascinating clash of styles with Moreno (33-2-1), the elusive Panamanian star. In the fifth round, Mares scored the first career knockdown of Moreno, who had won 27 straight fights since October 2002. "I could tell he felt my power and my aggression," Mares said. "He did take advantage of me when I waited too long, but hes a super champion and he gave me hell. I couldnt let him get comfortable with his style, because hes very good. I made it my fight tonight." Mares stalked Moreno from the opening bell, playing the bull to Morenos matador in every corner of the ring. Moreno weathered the early rounds with his usual defensive flair and athleticism, but Mares is a nonstop puncher who usually corners his man -- and he did it in the fifth round, staggering Moreno with a three-punch combination and then stepping back while Moreno fell to the canvas. "I was a little shocked when he went down," Mares said. "I felt the punch, but didnt think it was that powerful." Machismo took over the fight in the eighth round, with both boxers taking turns standing still and daring the other to throw his best shot. Mares pursuit never stopped, however: He full-out sprinted after Moreno in the 12th round, with Moreno backpedaling at the same pace. Judges Marty Denkin and David Sutherland scored the bout 116-110 for Mares, while James Jen Kin gave every round to Mares in a 120-106 whitewash. The Associated Press also scored it 116-110 for Mares. "The fight should have been closer," said Moreno, who still holds a 118-pound title belt. "Im unhappy that the one judge didnt give me at least one round, but Abner fought a great fight. Hes a great champion. He was very strong, and I got caught by his shots. I was careless when I went down, but it was a great fight for the people. Im happy for that." Mares, who would love to fight Nonito Donaire next if their promoters could make nice, also showed his familiar lapses in punch discipline, hitting Moreno with a very low blow and a kidney punch. Mares didnt lose a point, but Moreno was docked in the 11th round for dangerously pulling down Mares head in a clinch. Santa Cruz (22-0-1, 13 KOs) put a comprehensive beating on Zaleta, knocking down the challenger with a left hook to the liver in the fourth round and another body shot followed by a left uppercut in the seventh. Zaleta (20-3-1) was extraordinarily game, surviving the onslaught until Santa Cruzs left set up a straight right in the ninth that connected with Zaletas jaw and knocked the challenger sideways underneath the ropes. "He made this a fight," said Santa Cruz, the Mexican-born slugger who fights out of nearby Lincoln Heights. "I was working the head and his body, and I finally caught him and he went down. He was blocking my shots at first, but I kept working." Santa Cruz said he hopes to fight Mares next year. Angulo (21-2, 18 KOs), the former 154-pound champion nicknamed "Perro," wept in the ring after depositing a senseless Casarez (19-3) on the canvas with one vicious hook. The all-action Angulo has been working on his defence under new trainer Virgil Hunter, but got little chance to show it off. In the past year since James Kirkland stopped him in November 2011. Angulo was detained by U.S. immigration officials for seven months. The Mexican fighter apparently was living in the U.S. with an expired work visa, but only got out of INS detention in July. "I had so much emotion during my ring walk," Angulo said. "I wanted to cry. I had to hold it in. I had a lot of pressure, but I knew I could get through it. I knew the dog was going to come back. ... I was listening to the crowd cheering for me, and I was overwhelmed. I could fight (again) in 20 minutes if you wanted." Fighting outside of Britain for just the second time in his career, Cleverly (25-0, 12 KOs) had little trouble in his fourth title defence against Hawk (22-3-1), who took the bout on five days notice after contender Ryan Coyne dropped out. "Im really looking forward to coming to the U.S. again and fighting," Cleverly said. "I set up the fight to be fast, strong and exciting. I enjoyed this. I enjoy the atmosphere and the lighting at Staples Center. He was a top opponent, but eventually I broke him down, and it paid off." Singer Tom Jones attended the fights to support Cleverly, his fellow Welshman. Jack Nicholson, Mickey Rourke, Lakers forward Metta World Peace, Clippers forward Caron Butler and jockey Mike Smith also were in the crowd. 02:05ET 11-11-12 Cheap Jerseys . Home-field advantage: Japan. Japan will host first and second rounds of pool play at two sites in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, which features a new qualifying format rather than the invitation-only system of the first two events. Wholesale Jerseys . The results have been smashing. Gonzalez extended a power surge by hitting three home runs in his last three at-bats, Michael Cuddyer belted a grand slam and Dexter Fowler also homered, leading the Colorado Rockies past the Houston Astros 13-5 on Wednesday night for their third win in a row. http://www.nflcheapjerseysstitched.... . And there was no shortage of talk Tuesday as Toronto FC paraded out 19 players as well as its manager and director of team and player operations at the clubs $21-million training centre. [url=http://www.nflcheapjerseysstitched.com/]Cheap nfl Jerseys . The Lightning, who acquired Pouliots rights from the Boston Bruins on June 23 – signed the 25-year-old forward to a one-year, $1. Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping . -- The Anaheim Ducks have signed defenceman Cam Fowler to a five-year contract extension.DOHA, Qatar -- Philipp Kohlschreiber opened his season with a 7-6 (5), 6-1 victory over Croatias Ivan Dodig in the first round of the Qatar Open on Monday. The third-seeded German was joined in the second round by sixth-seeded Viktor Troicki of Serbia, who battled past Bjorn Phau of Germany 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. The injury plagued Nikolay Davydenko, whose ranking has fallen to No. 48 from a high of No. 3, cruised past Victor Hanescu of Romania 6-2, 6-3. Kohlschreiber outlasted his opponent with a gritty display. With both players holding serve throughout the first set, Kohlschreiber finally found a forehand winner in the tiebreaker. "It was a good first set and he never gave me any easy balls," said Kohlschreiber, who wrapped up the match with an ace. "At 29, Im one of the older guys in the tour and I hope to adjusst a few things in my game next year.dddddddddddd." After breaking Dodig in just the second game of the second set, the German pressed his advantage and broke again in the fourth before wrapping up the match. Troicki was stretched hard in a thrilling tie that lasted 1 hour, 45 minutes. "I knew it was going to be a tough match, especially since it was the start of the season. Bjorn played really well and it was a tight match indeed. Im happy to finish my match before the New Year started," said Troicki, who fired seven aces in the match. Top-seeded David Ferrer and second-seeded Richard Gasquet of France play their opening-round matches Tuesday. The $1.05 million tournament is missing many of the games biggest stars with Ferrer and Gasquet as the only top-10 players taking part in the event. ' ' '