(Photo credit: Tom Casino/Showtime) By Scott Gilfoid: EBU super bantamweight champion Carl Frampton (17-0, 12 KO’s) has sized up WBC 122 lb. champ Leo Santa Cruz (25-0-1, 15 KO’s) after watching some of his fights and he feels he’s got the style to beat the 25-year-old Santa Cruz.
To Frampton, he sees Santa Cruz as little more than a shorter version of Antonio Margarito, a fighter known for having slow hands and a tendency to throw a lot of looping shots. Frampton thinks he’s better than Santa Cruz, and he’s really hoping he can fight him in 2014.
Frampton, #2 WBC, #3 IBF, #12 WBO, #13 WBA, sees himself as the second best fighter in the super bantamweight division right now behind WBA/WBO champion Guillermo Rigondeaux. Boxing fans feel that Santa Cruz is the second best guy at that weight, but Frampton doesn’t agree with them.
“I think I beat him,” Frampton said to BoxNation. “He’s very easily hit. He reminds of a smaller version of Antonio Margarito, and you saw what Manny Pacquiao did to him…People with that sort of style they can’t really seem to deal with movement. I think I’m a better fighter than Santa Cruz. I think he can easily be hit.”
Santa Cruz will be defending his WBC title on Saturday night against #5 WBC Cesar Seda (25-1, 17 KO’s) at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The Santa Cruz vs. Seda fight will be on the undercard of the Adrien Broner vs. Marcos Maidana fight card and it’ll be televised by Showtime.
I’ve seen plenty of Frampton’s fights in the past, and I think he wouldn’t stand a chance in a million against Santa Cruz. The difference in talent between the two fighters are world’s apart. Don’t get me wrong; Frampton’s a good little Euro level fighter, but he’s not really top five world class, is he? Frampton doesn’t quite make the cut in terms of the best fighters in the division, and I think Santa Cruz would destroy him easily.
In Frampton’s toughest fight against Kiko Martinez last February, Martinez got the better of almost every exchange in the fight, and he was clearly the stronger fighter. Frampton was on the run and looked worried until he was able to get a lucky stoppage in the 9th round when Martinez walked into a shot that he didn’t see coming. You take that punch away and I think Martinez was well on his way to wearing Frampton down and stopping him.
Frampton also looked poor in his way over Raul Hirales last year. Frampton wasn’t as strong as Hirales and had to use movement to win a decision.
I’d like to see Frampton face Santa cruz next year, but I have a feeling that Frampton or his promoter will opt not to take the fight. This goes against the normal type of opposition that Frampton fans, which is frequently not very good.
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