BoxRec

"Daddy Issues: Santa Cruz v Frampton Belfast rematch looks unlikely"

Léo Santa Cruz claims he would love to fight Carl Frampton in Belfast next, but has stressed that it is not his decision to make.

Santa Cruz told Villainfy Media that “if it was up to me, I would fight him over there [Belfast] right now.”

“I have to talk to my team, my manager, because I can’t just say ‘oh I’m going to go [to Belfast],’ I can’t make that decision. If it was up to me, or if my coach tells me ‘do you want to fight over there?’ I would say ‘yes, I want to fight over there.'”

“It’s not up to me, it’s up to my promoter, the team. Hopefully, I’m going to push for it, and if it were up to me I’d go fight him over there.”

“My dad says not to go over there, because going over there would be a really bad decision and, you know, he is right and everything but if I go over there and I get the win and beat him, for all the fans to see that I win, that’s all that matters. Hopefully they see that I win and they give me that.”

Confirming that his father’s approval is crucial, Santa Cruz said that “it’s very important, he’s my father, he’s been there my whole life, my whole career.”

“I always listen to my dad. If he says no, I wouldn’t go there. I do whatever he tells me to do.”

"If it was up to me"

Ultimately, it is up to the fighter. If he really wanted to fight in Belfast, it'd happen

I'd rather them fight other people to be honest.

They split it 1-1 and both decisions were fair, now let's see them against opponents with different styles and attributes.

Didn't think LSC would come to Belfast. I was hoping he would but it's not looking likely. There's other names in the division for Frampton and LSC to go after. If they both win a couple more fights then they can have the rubber match.

crusader wrote:I'd rather them fight other people to be honest.

They split it 1-1 and both decisions were fair, now let's see them against opponents with different styles and attributes.

Same! They can always fight in a few years to settle the score. Don't need 3 back to back fights. They're both still young, they should rack up a few wins.

Stuarty30 wrote:Didn't think LSC would come to Belfast. I was hoping he would but it's not looking likely. There's other names in the division for Frampton and LSC to go after. If they both win a couple more fights then they can have the rubber match.

American's hardly come to the UK, unless it's for good money. I think he got paid around $900,000 for the 2nd fight. Still a decent amount.

Stuarty30 wrote:Didn't think LSC would come to Belfast. I was hoping he would but it's not looking likely. There's other names in the division for Frampton and LSC to go after. If they both win a couple more fights then they can have the rubber match.

Agreed.

Would like to watch LSC vs Valdez/Russell and Frampton vs Selby.

You can't blame them - McGuigan was being very naive to assume they'd travel to NI on a handshake (and was very generous in agreeing to Vegas for the return).

If Quigg still hopes to rematch Carl, he needs to get to LSC first. Meanwhile, I'd take Frampton vs Selby or Mares in Belfast this summer.

I don't consider any of these guys legitimate, because they're all running from Gary Russell -- who would knock them all out.

Kalan wrote:I don't consider any of these guys legitimate, because they're all running from Gary Russell -- who would knock them all out.

He won the fight easily.

No point in a rematch in Framptons hometown.

crusader wrote:I'd rather them fight other people to be honest.

They split it 1-1 and both decisions were fair, now let's see them against opponents with different styles and attributes.

I've been thinking about this and I'm not sure how it's fair that two guys can fight two times, split the contests, and one of them still has the belt.

i know, it's happened a ton of times in history and everything, and boxing isn't fair etc, but still. This seems a good candidate for a rubber match.

Belt schmelt

It gets boring to me when fighters repeatedly face each other. Other opponents present different problems, and Id like to see how Frampton and LSC deal with those. Down the line a rubber match would be more interesting.

crusader wrote:Belt schmelt

It gets boring to me when fighters repeatedly face each other. Other opponents present different problems, and Id like to see how Frampton and LSC deal with those. Down the line a rubber match would be more interesting.

I agree. They need to fight Russell and Valdez.