By Keith Idec
Leo Santa Cruz has heard through boxing’s proverbial grapevine that Carl Frampton has no intention of engaging in a slugfest Saturday night.
The Rosemead, California, native hopes that turns out to be an erroneous rumor.
The WBA super world featherweight champion wants nothing more than to produce another “Fight of the Year” candidate when he and a smaller Frampton fight in a “Showtime Championship Boxing” main event at Barclays Center in Brooklyn (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT).
If Northern Ireland’s Carl Frampton (22-0, 14 KOs), a former IBF/WBA 122-pound champion who typically takes a more measured approach than Santa Cruz, is willing in his debut as a full-fledged featherweight, Santa Cruz (32-0-1, 18 KOs) is certain they can produce a memorable bout.
“From my side, I’m gonna go out there and make it a fight,” Santa Cruz told BoxingScene.come. “I’m gonna make him fight, so that he has no other choice but to fight back. But I don’t think Frampton is gonna want to stay there and fight with me. I think he’s gonna throw one or two punches and try to move. I don’t think he’s gonna stay there with me and exchange punches.
“But I’m gonna try to go out there and make it a fight for the fans, to entertain the fans. We don’t know what Frampton’s gonna bring. Hopefully he’ll bring the game plan to stay there and give the fans a toe-to-toe fight.”
Keith Idec covers boxing for The Record and Herald News, of Woodland Park, N.J., and BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
