by David P. Greisman
Just because Barry McGuigan thinks Leo Santa Cruz avoided Carl Frampton at 122, and just because McGuigan thinks his fighter will beat Santa Cruz at 126 on Saturday night, doesn’t mean the former fighter and current promoter has little respect for the three-division titleholder.
“Santa Cruz is a great fighter,” McGuigan told BoxingScene.com on Friday. “He’s a better fighter than Scott Quigg in every department. He’s aggressive. He throws more punches. He’s braver. He’s got a good chin. He’s a better technician. He’s going to be a much more forensic examination of Carl Frampton."
"This will be the hardest fight Carl’s ever had. Santa Cruz will test him like nobody else has ever tested him in every single department. But he will come through it. He will win, and he will win emphatically.”
Quigg was a good fighter as well. Their unification bout didn’t turn into the barnburner that boxing fans hoped it would be — and hope that Santa Cruz-Frampton will still be.
McGuigan doesn’t expect similar disappointment.
“Scott Quigg wouldn’t press the fight. He was all full of mouth and full of bluster but didn’t produce the goods,” McGuigan said. “Carl broke his jaw, mind you, but he [Quigg] was terrified of coming forward. Leo Santa Cruz will not be terrified of coming forward. Santa Cruz is a brave fighter. I have much more respect for Leo Santa Cruz than I have for Scott Quigg.”
Given that Santa Cruz’s style is to throw in high volume, McGuigan may be right.
Pick up a copy of David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide. Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com
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