Leo Santa Cruz Willing To Fight Trilogy if He Beats Carl Frampton

By Ryan Burton

"Super" WBA featherweight champion Carl Frampton (23-0) and former champion Leo Santa Cruz (32-1) will renew acquaintances on January 28th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.  It will be Frampton's third fight in the United States and his first fight in Vegas.

The sequel of their July classic will once again be televised by Showtime. The first fight is a contender for 2016 Fight of the Year honors.

The first installment, which Frampton won by majority decision at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, was very close and some observers feel that Santa Cruz deserved to get the nod. There was an immediate rematch clause in place, and Santa Cruz quickly exercised that option to get revenge for his first career defeat.

If he gets the win in the rematch, Santa Cruz is interested in facing former multi-division champion Abner Mares, whom he defeated in August, 2015. Mares is back in the map after dominating Jesus Cuellar earlier this month to capture the WBA's "regular" featherweight world title. The "regular" title will eventually make Mares become the mandatory challenger to the Santa Cruz vs. Frampton winner.

"I want to get the rematch.  Hopefully we get the win against Frampton then we can fight Mares again. He looked really good. He boxed him. He didn't sit there and take his punches. He did what he had to do against Cuellar," said Santa Cruz of Mares December 10th title winning performance against Jesus Cuellar.

Santa Cruz would also be interested in fighting a rubber match against Frampton if he is successful on January 28th.

"If he wants it of course. I am willing to give him the third fight. God willing if I win and he wants it I would do it again," Santa Cruz told BoxingScene.com.

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