By Scott Gilfoid: Leo Santa Cruz will be getting his chance to avenge his loss to WBA Super World featherweight champion Carl Frampton on January 28 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is an ideal situation for Santa Cruz (32-1-1, 18 KOs), because the location of the rematch against the 29-year-old Frampton (23-0, 14 KOs) is a lot better than their previous fight last Summer on July 30, because it took place in New York at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. That fight took place in front of a large crowd of Frampton fans, who screamed their heads off from start to finish.
Frampton was interested in fighting a unification match against fellow Brit Lee Selby next, as he holds down the IBF featherweight strap. A fight between them would have been a big deal in the UK. However, Santa Cruz used his rematch clause to get a rematch with Frampton rather than letting him take off with his WBA title.
It would have been bad news if Santa Cruz didn’t have the rematch clause in the contract with Frampton, because he might not have ever gotten a second chance at fighting him. Frampton has flaws in his game, and he likely would have been beaten by someone sooner or later.
There was a large pro-Frampton crowd that turned up for the fight.
Poor Santa Cruz might as well have been fighting Frampton in the UK again, because the fans were totally supportive of Frampton. It was odd to see. I knew it was going to be like this. As soon as the fight was announced for New York, I thought to myself, ‘what on earth is Santa Cruz and his management doing in fighting in New York?
Don’t they know that the crowd would be a pro-Frampton crowd? Santa Cruz and his management found out the hard way that they basically gave away the fight by choosing the wrong venue. Frampton ended up winning a HIGHLY controversial 12 round majority decision by the scores 114-114, 116-112 and 117-111. In losing the fight, Santa Cruz lost his World Boxing Association 126lb title. Fortunately for Santa Cruz, his management was wise enough to include a rematch clause in the contract for the fight. That was the one smart thing that they did.
Frampton said this to ESPN.com about his rematch with Santa Cruz on Jan.28:
“The rematch is the fight we wanted,” Frampton said. “I enjoyed our first fight in New York. The atmosphere was fantastic and the fight lived up to the hype. On Jan. 28, I will be better and I will win more convincingly. I know the way Leo fights. He throws a lot of punches and he is brave, but his style suits me.”
Frampton must be kidding himself if he thinks Santa Cruz’s style suits him. Frampton was worn down in the last half of their fight last July, and I had him losing that fight. Frampton only did well when Santa Cruz was fighting on the outside wasting time trying to use his seven inch reach advantage. Santa Cruz didn’t really start doing well until he took the fight to close quarters and exposed Frampton for having zero stamina, no ability to fight hard for three minutes of every round, and no inside game. For a short guy, Frampton proved to be the inferior fighter on the inside.
“From the moment our last fight ended, when the decision came and I lost the fight, I knew my only goal was to get my belt back,” Santa Cruz said via ESPN.com. “When I sat in the locker room afterward, I felt more motivated than ever to get back in the gym. All I’ve thought about since the fight was this rematch. There won’t be any distractions in this camp. I’ll be heading into the fight with a better game plan. I’m putting in 100 percent in training, and I’m excited to get in the ring on Jan. 28 to get my belt back.”
The game plan to beat Frampton was already in place BEFORE the Santa Cruz vs. Frampton fight last July. Scott Quigg created the blueprint in how to beat Frampton earlier in the year when he narrowly lost a controversial 12 round split decision in February 2016. If Santa Cruz had simply followed that game plan to the letter, he would have beaten Frampton without any problems, and there wouldn’t be any reason for a rematch between them right now. That was a mistake on Santa Cruz and his trainer’s part not to use the blueprint that was already in place in how to beat Frampton. They tried to create a new blueprint, and that worked in Frampton’s favor for about six rounds. Once Santa Cruz changed tactics in the second half of the Frampton fight by applying pressure, he was then able to dominate him in the last six rounds.
Frampton is kind of stuck when it comes to game plans. He can’t really fiddle with his own game plan too much for the rematch, because he’s already shown all of his cards in the first fight. Frampton already tried running from Santa Cruz, and it didn’t work. Frampton won’t be able to use the in and out attacking style like he did last time, because Santa Cruz is going to stay on top of him for the entire 1 rounds by staying close. That means unless Frampton has the inside boxing skills to handle Santa Cruz’s pressure, then he’ll lose the fight and lose it badly.