While the expectations for a repeat in action are aplenty entering Saturday's Leo Santa Cruz-Abner Mares featherweight title rematch, both fighters agree the second fight will look just a bit different. 

Santa Cruz (34-1-1, 19 KOs), a three-division titleholder, will defend his WBA 126-pound championship against Mares (31-2-1, 15 KOs), who holds the organization's secondary title, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles (Showtime, 10 p.m. ET). The doubleheader also features WBC junior middleweight titleholder Jermell Charlo against former champion Austin Trout.

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The reason for the difference surrounds the performance from Mares, 32, in their first fight three years ago. Much of the drama and action that night can be credited to Mares' willingness to throw caution to the wind in the first half by rushing Santa Cruz with constant flurries.

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The main drawback of that style, however, was that Mares ran out of gas late, allowing Santa Cruz, 29, to take home a majority decision in one of 2015's best fights. 

"I can't go in with the same exact mentality as last time and try to knock Leo's head off," Mares said. "I have power, but I'm not a one-punch knockout artist. The difference between our fight in 2015 and now is that I'm a more mature and seasoned fighter. I've been in this sport a long time, and now with having [trainer] Robert Garcia in my corner, he's really helped my mental game and given me great guidance."

Santa Cruz was able to balance when to fight off Mares with flurries at close range and when to rely on his length to box from the outside. He expects a much more tactical fight this time around against a much more disciplined Mares. 

"I think he's going to be more cautious this time and smarter," Santa Cruz told CBS Sports' "In This Corner" podcast on Monday. "He had heart like a true Mexican warrior [in the first fight]. He came forward and threw a lot of punches. He didn't run and he was exchanging with me. He came out and tried to knock me out and he got tired. I think he is going to come out more relaxed and smarter and will try to move more."

The main reason for Santa Cruz's optimism that both fighters won't throw away their game plans and brawl at the first sign of contact surrounds how much each fighter has grown over the past three years. For Santa Cruz, a pair of exciting 12-round title fights with Carl Frampton helped him show critics he's more than just a stereotypical Mexican volume puncher.

"It was very important for me to show it because people thought I was just a fighter that went forward throwing punches and couldn't box," Santa Cruz said. "The fans, they love a fighter that always goes to brawl with punches back and forth but sometimes you have to be smart and realize that you can fight another way and people will still like it."

Prediction

We have already seen Mares come up short in his attempt to bully and overwhelm Santa Cruz with power punches. It's also difficult to imagine Mares -- a boxer-puncher who has always favored reckless aggressiveness to technical brilliance -- outboxing Santa Cruz as the busier fighter. 

If there's a hybrid strategy to be employed for Mares in order to disarm Santa Cruz's long jab, surely new trainer Robert Garcia can come up with it and it likely involves the idea of Mares being more patient to look for counter shots and smart opportunities to surprise with flurries. 

Mares' speed advantage could certainly help him in that quest. But Santa Cruz has evolved into such a well-rounded fighter, mixing combinations to the body and heavy activity behind his jab, that it may not matter. 

Until Mares can find a flaw in Santa Cruz's game that he's able to exploit, his lack of one-punch power and deficiencies in technique compared to his opponent present a hill that's not easily climbed considering Santa Cruz is the taller and longer fighter at the peak of his physical prime. 

The rematch has all the makings to be exciting, but will probably end up looking more like Santa Cruz's two fights with Frampton than their frantic first fight. That is, unless Mares becomes frustrated and reverts to his default. Either way, it's likely to play into the hands of Santa Cruz, who has shown nothing short of an iron chin up to this point. 

Pick: Santa Cruz by UD12

Jermell Charlo vs. Austin Trout

Charlo, the twin brother of WBC middleweight champion Jermall, is one of boxing's rising stars and begins his 2018 campaign fresh off a pair of knockout-of-the-year contenders, which only added the "scary power" to the attributes on his scouting report. The 28-year-old from Houston enters what should be a tough test against Trout, the former champion who has experience against every top name in the division this decade. 

There's an argument to be made that Trout, 32, is the best opponent on paper that Charlo has yet to face. There's an equal argument, however, that Charlo has evolved into the kind of dangerous, well-rounded fighter who is simply all kinds of wrong for the light-punching Trout at this stage of his career. 

Prediction

While Trout has given plenty of top junior middleweights a tough outing in recent years, the hard truth is that he hasn't scored a truly meaningful victory since upsetting Miguel Cotto in 2012. The tricky southpaw pushed Jermall Charlo to a competitive decision loss in 2016 and was leading current 154-pound champion Jarrett Hurd midway through their bout last October before succumbing via late knockout. 

Fighters like Trout simply don't age well on the elite level due to their lack of power to keep younger, more aggressive fighters honest. While Trout can still be a problem for more limited fighters in spurts -- similar to the success he had early against Hurd -- Charlo is too quick, explosive and riding such a red-hot streak of stoppages that it may not matter. 

Expect this to likely be the last time either Charlo brother is fighting on Showtime in something that isn't a headlining role. Both talk a big game and back it up even more impressively. Trout may be able to linger while giving Charlo the kind of looks that will make him work. But make no mistake, the big right hand is coming and eventually it will connect. 

Pick: Charlo by TKO6