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Leo Santa Cruz demanded a rematch. Carl Frampton was more than willing to oblige. Now their second bout is a done deal. And it was the champ himself who made the announcement via Twitter:
Done deal! The rematch vs @leosantacruz2 is on!!! More news to come soon #AndStill
— Carl Frampton MBE (@RealCFrampton) October 20, 2016
The Rematch
Immediately after suffering the first defeat of his professional boxing career, Mexican Leo Santa Cruz asked for a rematch with Carl Frampton. The Jackal was gracious to accept the challenge. But because November and December had filled out the major stadiums in the United States, the PBC decided to book the rematch during the opening month of 2017. Either that or as the rumor said the PBC is running out of cash, Leo Santa Cruz will have an opportunity to reclaim the world title that was once his.
It can be recalled that Frampton and Santa Cruz battled in a close and rugged bout that saw the Northern Ireland native win by majority decision. Though it was well-fought, it was clear that the Jackal landed the more telling blows while Santa Cruz produced his usual high output punch stats. The judges gave preference to substance over content and hence Frampton snatched Santa Cruz’s world title and became the first man from Northern Ireland to win boxing world titles in two different weight classes.
Keeping His Word
By agreeing to fight Santa Cruz in an immediate rematch, Frampton thus sets aside the plans to take on Lee Selby in an All-British Featherweight title unification bout which would be a big sell in England. But Frampton gave his word to Leo Santa Cruz after their bout, saying he would love to give Leo a rematch because he ( Santa Cruz ) gave him the opportunity to fight for the Featherweight world title. A rematch with Santa Cruz tells us that Frampton isn’t just a man of his word. He’s a boxer who fears no one inside the ring.
Santa Cruz unleashed his vaunted volume punching against Frampton, throwing an impressive 1002 total punches against the Jackal’s 668. He also landed 255 total punches as against Frampton’s 242. But the Jackal landed more power shots 206-191 and those more telling blows proved to be the difference in the close fight.
Back To Vegas
Although Frampton wished the rematch would be in Belfast, sources are saying that the venue is the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. To spice up the night, a title bout between Mikey Garcia and Dejan Zlaticanin has been added as the co-main event. The two will fight for Zlaticanin’s WBC Lightweight title:
Mikey Garcia-Dejan Zlaticanin to join Frampton-Santa Cruz card https://t.co/D9dfoeWM9L pic.twitter.com/22hTY3S2Ub
— Bad Left Hook (@badlefthook) October 20, 2016
The co-main event was confirmed by Lou DiBella who is the promoter of Zlaticanin. The event will be televised via Showtime.
