By Edward Chaykovsky

Barry McGuigan, who promotes WBA featherweight champion Carl Frampton, believes his fighter will become a legend by beating challenger Leo Santa Cruz for a second time in the United States. The rematch is heading to January 28th, likely at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Back in July, Frampton (23-0, 14KOs) won a twelve round decision over Santa Cruz (32-1-1, 18KOs) to capture the WBA title at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

There was a rematch clause and both fighters were immediately on board with a second fight. The deal was finalized a few days ago.

 

The upcoming contest will be the third fight for Frampton on American soil. With the big win in July, Frampton made history by becoming the first Northern Ireland boxer to win world titles at two different weight divisions.

To gain that legendary recognition in boxing history, McGuigan says a fighter must make a statement on American soil and that's what he feels Frampton is doing with this rematch.

"It doesn’t get much better than this, kicking off the New Year as the headline act at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Carl Frampton had already moved to another level, and the rematch with Leo Santa Cruz on January 28 continues his march towards the pinnacle of boxing," McGuigan said to The Daily Mirror.

"We had options, but as long as the numbers made sense the rematch clause was always going to be easy to trigger — especially since he gets to make his debut at the Mecca of boxing. The first meeting with Santa Cruz at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn last July was one of the fights, if not the fight of the year.

"It framed the new WBA featherweight champion as a top-ten fighter, a genuine star. The next step is not only to make him a big name today, but one that people will always remember. To gain lasting recognition, a fighter has to make an impact in America. Frampton has already done that in New York. Now we want to make a big impression on the West Coast, through the prism of Las Vegas, where all the big shows are. I'm determined that when he is done, he will enjoy some of the recognition and acclaim that I have experienced in retirement."

McGuigan believes Frampton could continue pushing forward with his history march, by going up to super featherweight and capturing a third divisional title.

"Frampton is already a two-weight world champion, and I believe he could make history as Ireland’s first three-division king before he is done. I think I could have gone on for another two years at least as WBA featherweight champion, and also moved up to super featherweight at some point. The fact that I did not do that makes me all the more determined to get the best out of my fighters today. At the end of their careers, I want them to look back knowing they could not have done better — and that I could not have done more for them," McGuigan said.