World champion Leo Santa Cruz has now adjusted his glare towards rising star Carl Frampton after prevailing in his recent fight. The Mexican sensation who has been blasting his way past all comers in the super-bantamweight division, dominated Cristian Mijares last Saturday night in Las Vegas and now looks to set up a megafight with Ulsterman Frampton.
Both men are renowned for their come-forward, whirlwind boxing style that has captured the imagination of both casual and hardcore fans alike.
The pair seem destined to cross paths in the very near future with Frampton fighting in a WBC eliminator in his next fight in April against Hugo Cazares, with the victor set to get a shot at Santa Cruz’s title.
“Carl’s been saying he wants to fight me and I’ve seen him in a couple of fights. He’s a great fighter, undefeated, he comes forward like me and throws parallel punches and pressures a lot. So I think it would make a really great fight for the fans,” Santa Cruz said.
“If he wins his, it could be the next fight which happens. He’s in an eliminator to fight me in his fight, so if our managers can work out something I think it can definitely happen next,” he said.
The two-weight world champion and reigning undefeated WBC super-bantamweight world champion, has taken notice of the Belfast blaze Frampton as he has blitzed his way past a host of top line contenders in recent outings.
It is this exciting and crowd-pleasing style which Santa Cruz believes could make for an instant classic when the pair finally square-off in the ring, though he is not expecting it to last the full twelve rounds.
“I come forward; he comes forward, so there will be no running. I think it will be a fight where we are both in the middle of the ring, giving a war and I think neither of us is going to want to go back,” he said.
“It could be ‘Fight of the Year’. I don’t think the fight would go the distance; it could finish before the twelve rounds the way that we will fight.
“I think he [Frampton] comes forward well, and is strong, always pressuring. But I think he drops his hands too much - I think that’s one of the mistakes he does. I could catch him or I could work the body and finish him right there,” Santa Cruz told BoxNation.
“It doesn’t matter to me where I fight him. It’s up to wherever my manager and promoter think the best place is. I’ll fight him wherever. If they want me to fight him in Ireland, I’ll come over and fight him in Ireland. If they want me to fight him here [United States], I’ll fight him here. Wherever they make the fight I’m willing to battle him.
“I think the fight is likely for between September-November around those months. After this fight [against Mijares] I’ll take a little break and get ready for those months because it’s a big fight, so we have to have a little more time to get ready for it.
