By Keith Idec

Carl Frampton figures Leo Santa Cruz will approach their rematch similar to the way he boxed in their first fight.

Santa Cruz relentlessly pressured Frampton, who was able to box effectively enough to win convincingly on two of three scorecards and brawl enough to help make their 12-rounder one of the best action fights of 2016. On a conference call Thursday, however, Santa Cruz contended that he’ll be more tactical during their rematch January 28 in Las Vegas because it’ll give him a better chance to win back the WBA world featherweight championship he lost to Frampton on July 30 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

“That’s all right, that they’re thinking I’m gonna go fight the same way,” Santa Cruz said. “But no, I could change it up. I just like to brawl. I like to go out there and make it a fight because that’s what the fans love. Fans love for a fighter to go toe-to-toe, action fights. That’s why I always try to go out there [and give them action]. That’s why people say I only fight one way.

“But the reality is I could fight any way. I could adapt to any way. I could box, I could move, but the truth [is] I really don’t like moving because I like entertaining the fans. Because, you know, they go out there to see the great fights, wars, toe-to-toe. But then they tell me that, ‘At the end of the day, you have to be smart. You have to fight for yourself. You have to go out there and win.’ And, you know, I could do that. For this fight, I’m gonna go out there and try to make it for me, so I could come out with the victory. And I’m gonna go out there and [people] are gonna be surprised at what I could do.”

Santa Cruz (32-1-1, 18 KOs), of Rosemead, California, surprised Frampton (23-0, 14 KOs) with his persistence in their first fight.

According to unofficial CompuBox statistics, Santa Cruz landed 255-of-1,002 overall punches in their 12-rounder, 13 more punches than Frampton (242-of-668). But CompuBox counted more power punches for Frampton (206-of-463 to 191-of-551), who landed less jabs than Santa Cruz (64-of-451 to 36-of-205).

While Frampton expects more of the same from Santa Cruz in their “Showtime Championship Boxing” main event at MGM Grand Garden Arena, he intends to make adjustments of his own.

“There are a few adjustments I wanna make in this fight to make things a little bit easier for myself,” Frampton said during the conference call Thursday. “And I’ve been trying different things out in the gym. But I’m prepared for whatever Leo has to throw at me.

“I understand this is gonna be a difficult fight, but if I make the adjustments that I’ve been working on in the gym I think that I can make the fight a little bit more comfortable for myself. If I have to go into the trenches, I’ll do whatever it takes to get this one.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.