By Jake Donovan
Leo Santa Cruz was viewed as a breath of fresh air when first entering the super bantamweight scene.
His reign has since grown a bit stale. The unbeaten all-action titlist was once filled with potential, but in recent times has become too content with accepting whatever is placed in front of him by adviser Al Haymon.
That leads us to Saturday evening's unnecessary matchup wih Manuel Roman, his former sparring partner who has done nothing at all to warrant a title shot. The bout serves as the chief support to the rematch between Floyd Mayweather and Marcos Maidana, which headlines on Showtime Pay-Per-View, live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Read on to see how the staff at BoxingScene.com believes the super bantamweight action will play out in Las Vegas.
BOXINGSCENE.COM STAFF PREDICTIONS: LEO SANTA CRUZ vs. MANUEL ROMAN
Ryan Burton (Santa Cruz UD): Roman is tough but clearly on a lower level than LSC. That being said I think Manny pulls an upset in itself in going the distance.
Jake Donovan (Santa Cruz KO6): Not sure what Roman can bring to the fight that makes Santa Cruz sweat. Should be an easy night's work for Santa Cruz, who deserves every bit of criticism directed for failing to make big fights happen at 122. Instead of thanking Al Haymon, he needs to demand of his adviser to secure fights with Guillermo Rigondeaux, Carl Frampton, Scott Quigg, et al.
Ernest Gabion (Santa Cruz late TKO): Roman is a terrific boxer but has that inner intangibles that won’t let him elevate his game to another level. He may look good in spots with LSC but overall will succumb to the output and stay in his corner late into the fight.
Cliff Rold (Santa Cruz KO): This fight is a bad, bad joke as a title fight. Maybe an upset happens. It was still a joke going in. It's Salka bad.
Reynaldo Sanchez (Santa Cruz KO8): Santa Cruz facing his sparring partner in an absolute mismatch.
Alexey Sukachev (Santa Cruz TKO5): Easy money for Cruz. I can't even see a slim chance of a smaller man Roman against a destructive machine like the young Mexican star.
Anson Wainwright (Santa Cruz TKO6): Santa Cruz is one of the top 122-pound fighters in the world, his all action style doesn't bode well for his former sparring partner Roman. I see "Teremoto" grinding Roman down, battering him into submission by the mid rounds.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox