By Keith Idec
The start of Leo Santa Cruz’s training camp for his rematch with Carl Frampton has been much more peaceful than most of his camp prior to their first fight.
His father’s cancer is almost completely in remission. Leo Santa Cruz can’t even begin to express how much of a relief that is for him and their entire family.
It’s important in the gym, too, because Jose Santa Cruz has been his son’s trainer since he started boxing 20 years ago. He missed most of Leo’s preparation for his July 30 fight against Frampton because the 56-year-old Jose needed chemotherapy and spinal surgery to fend off Stage 3 multiple myeloma, a cancer that affects plasma cells in bone marrow.
As his son started preparing for the biggest fight of his boxing career at the Who’s Next Boxing Academy in La Puente, California, Jose was confined to a wheelchair as he endured the biggest fight of his life.
“It affected me a lot because when I got to the gym, I really couldn’t concentrate or focus on training because my dad wasn’t there telling me what to do,” Leo Santa Cruz told BoxingScene.com on Thursday. “And also, I was thinking about him and how he was doing, if he was going to be able to make it or beat cancer, stuff like that. It was really, really hard, but it was a big fight and I still had to try to do my best. And I did what I could.”
Santa Cruz lost a majority decision to Northern Ireland’s Frampton, who remained unbeaten by adeptly handling Santa Cruz’s relentless pressure and boxing effectively during an action-packed 12-round fight at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Their immediate rematch, scheduled for January 28 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, officially was announced Thursday during an open-to-the-public press conference at the Los Angeles Public Library.
Four months after suffering his first professional loss, Santa Cruz (32-1-1, 18 KOs) left from a day full of media obligations fully focused on continuing what the Rosemead, California, native expects to be a much better training camp with his father in charge. His older brother, Antonio, ran camp for his first fight against Frampton (23-0, 14 KOs), but they agree that it wasn’t the same as when Jose controls camp.
“My dad is the one telling us what to do,” Leo Santa Cruz said. “If I’m dropping my hand, he’s telling me to pick it up or what punches to throw.”
Jose, who was diagnosed with cancer in April, worked the 28-year-old Leo’s corner for the first Frampton fight, which Frampton won on two of the three scorecards (117-111, 116-112, 114-114) to take Santa Cruz’s WBA super world featherweight title. Though Santa Cruz doesn’t want to make it sound like he is trying to excuse away a loss, he would be lying if he didn’t admit that not having his father by his side throughout that training camp adversely affected his preparation for Frampton.
“It’s just that my dad’s gonna be there this time for the whole camp with me,” Santa Cruz said. “That will help me a lot. I’m so used my dad being there for every camp with me. He never missed a camp. He was always there, telling me what to do and everything. And then for the camp for the first Carl Frampton fight, he wasn’t there for the first month-and-a-half. I was training hard because, you know, it was a big fight and everything. But it wasn’t the same because my dad wasn’t there pushing me, telling me what to do, telling me what mistakes I was doing. I think that’s gonna be the difference.”
They’ve worked together for the past month, first performing light training, before beginning sparring two weeks ago.
“Right now, we’re both happy,” Leo Santa Cruz said. “Seeing him there in the gym, it’s a big win for me. He’s even gonna start doing the mitts with me in a week or so. He’s gonna work with me in the ring, too. It’s gonna be a lot better. We’re gonna be comfortable, having nothing on our minds, being relaxed and there will be no distractions.”
It has helped, too, that the whole Santa Cruz family feels at peace.
They’re all a lot less stressed now that their patriarch is back to doing what he loves alongside his son. Santa Cruz’s older brother, Roberto, also is in better health as he battles lupus, a chronic disease that makes the body’s immune system attack one’s own tissues and organs.
“Everybody’s happy,” Leo Santa Cruz said. “Everything right now has been great. My brother has been sick, too, but even he’s doing great, too. And now that my dad is doing better, too, I think the whole family feels a big relief. It’s like a big weight has been taken from on top of us. We feel happy and we’re more motivated to go out there and do big things.”
The biggest thing on the Santa Cruz family’s agenda is avenging that lone defeat on Leo’s record next month in a fight Showtime will televise. Their focus during this training camp will be fighting a more intelligent, less reckless 12 rounds or fewer against Frampton, who displayed patience, defensive improvement and a sturdy chin in the “Fight of the Year” candidate they produced over the summer.
“I think what we need to do different is have a better game plan,” Leo Santa Cruz said, “be smarter and not get carried away, throw punches at the right time and stuff like that. We’re gonna go with a different game plan this time. With my dad, we’re practicing a different game plan and I think you’re all gonna see it January 28th when we get up in the ring.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
