By Edward Chaykovsky

WBA featherweight champion Leo Santa Cruz (33-1-1, 18 KOs) would love to face travel overseas to face Carl Frampton (23-1, 14 KOs) in Belfast - but he says that important decision is not fully up to him.

Last July at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Frampton captured the WBA belt with a twelve round majority decision over Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz got revenge last month in Las Vegas, when he reclaimed his title with a twelve round majority decision over Frampton at the MGM Grand.

Frampton is demanding a trilogy fight, but he wants it take place in his hometown of Belfast. He feels it's only fair, since he traveled to the United States to fight Santa Cruz on two occasions. He also claims that Santa Cruz repeatedly promised to fight him in Belfast if a trilogy bout was required.

Santa Cruz wants to do it, but says his father Jose Santa Cruz, who is also the head trainer, is completely against the trip and advised him not to do it.

“My dad is scared that if I go over there, and even if I beat Carl Frampton, the people and the judges are going to be an influence. No matter if I beat him, he thinks that even if I beat him I’ll have the victory taken away from me," Santa Cruz told Villainfy Media. 

“My dad says not to go over there, because going over there would be a really bad decision and, you know, he is right and everything but if I go over there and I get the win and beat him, for all the fans to see that I win, that’s all that matters. Hopefully they see that I win and they give me that.”

Santa Cruz has always been extremely close with his father. Last year, their bond got even stronger when the elder Santa Cruz won his battle with cancer.

The three division world champion is very clear that his father's approval is very important to him.

“It’s very important, he’s my father, he’s been there my whole life, my whole career. I always listen to my dad. If he says no, I wouldn’t go there. I do whatever he tells me to do," Santa Cruz said.