Tag Archives: Carl Frampton

Carl Frampton vs. Andres Gutierrez: Will The Jackal Bounce Back From His First Career Defeat?

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Carl Frampton will face Andres Gutierrez in a WBC Featherweight title eliminator on July 29th, 2017 at the SSE Arena in Belfast. The bout marks Frampton’s return to the boxing ring since losing to Leo Santa Cruz by majority decision on January 28th of this year.

Return of the Jackal

Frampton is the first boxer from Northern Ireland and the second from Ireland to win a world boxing title in two different weight classes. Known as The Jackal, Frampton was the IBF and WBA super bantamweight champion before moving up in weight to challenge the then unbeaten Leo Santa Cruz for the latter’s WBA (super) featherweight title in June of 2016.

Frampton turned in a performance of a lifetime when he defeated Santa Cruz by majority decision but lost to the Mexican in a rematch held at the MGM Garden Arena last January. Santa Cruz is slated to rematch three division champion Abner Mares on October 7th in a fight that will determine the sole WBA featherweight king. With Santa Cruz going another direction, Frampton set his eyes set on the WBC featherweight belt. A win over Gutierrez sets up a bout between current WBC champ Gary Russell Jr.

Rising Mexican Contender

Andres Gutierrez is a rising Mexican contender. The 23-year old recently bounced back from the first loss of his career with a TKO win over little known Wallington Orobio. One fight back, Gutierrez suffered a controversial majority loss against former world champion Cristian Mijares in a WBC silver featherweight title bout. Gutierrez was four pounds over the weight limit during that fight.

Before the loss to Mijares, Gutierrez was aiming at Leo Santa Cruz but the latter didn’t take a fight with him. Now, he has the chance to face Leo’s rival. A victory over Carl Frampton will not only lead to his first ever world title shot but it could also lead him to a future bout with Santa Cruz, the man he claims avoided him.

Odds and Prediction

Frampton is the heavy favorite here at -2500 while Gutierrez is at +1000. Many think that Gutierrez isn’t ready for a fight of this magnitude and they are pointing at the Mijares fight as an example of why Gutierrez isn’t the real deal yet. But if you take a look at that fight, Mijares’ face was battered and bruised. The fans thought Gutierrez won but the judges gave the more well known fighter the nod.

Gutierrez has good punching power and Frampton was  knocked down by the late Alejandro Gonzalez Jr. in his U.S. debut in 2015. He has knocked out 25 of 35 opponents and his last three victories have been by stoppage. The only catch with him is that he can be wild at times while on the offensive end. Frampton meanwhile is a complete fighter and is considered the #2 featherweight in the world. The Jackal is a smart boxer who also has good punching power. He has beaten world beaters before and is no stranger to big fights. The only concern in this bout is that he gives up an inch in height and five inches in reach. It will be also interesting how he fights coming off a loss. All things considered, we’re picking Carl Frampton to win by unanimous decision.

Carl Frampton vs. Leo Santa Cruz 2 Odds and Prediction

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Carl Frampton defends his WBA (Super) Featherweight title for the first time against the man he won it from-Leo Santa Cruz on January 28th, 2017 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Immediate Rematch

After a scintillating first bout in July of 2016 where Frampton won by a close majority decision, two of the world’s best small weight fighters go at it one more time. Frampton dealt Santa Cruz his first defeat in 34 fights and the latter immediately asked for a rematch which the Jackal agreed upon just as quickly.

Known for his volume punching and fast hands, Leo Santa Cruz is looking to rebound from his first ever career loss. It will be interesting to see how he recovers, especially since he will be fighting the very man who beat him the last time out. Carl Frampto,n meanwhile, is still high over that victory which is without doubt the biggest win of his career. The Belfast native is looking to keep his momentum going as he is 3-0 on U.S. soil.

Reversal Of Roles

During the first encounter, the highly touted Santa Cruz was a -300 favorite to beat the +265 Frampton. This time around, the roles have been reversed. The Jackal is now the favorite, although not by much, to beat Santa Cruz once again. Oddsmakers have Frampton as a -145 favorite over Santa Cruz, who is currently pegged at +125.

Despite the close lines, it’s highly unlikely that this fight is ending much differently. Santa Cruz may have the flashy offensive numbers but with his volume punching comes his tendency to get hit more often. Against a patient and calculated opponent like Carl Frampton, that will be disastrous.

Quality over Quantity

During their first bout in July of 2016, Santa Cruz threw 1002 punches as compared to Frampton’s 668. However, he only out-connected the Jackal 255-242 in total punches landed. That’s a huge disparity of 36% against 25% in punch accuracy.

It wasn’t just that. Frampton also landed more of the telling blows during the fight, outscoring Santa Cruz 206-191 in total power punches landed. Those numbers show you that while Santa Cruz is indeed a high volume output puncher, he wasn’t as accurate against Frampton’s excellent defense. On the other hand, the smarter Frampton was able to land the more high quality punches as Santa Cruz was on the offense.

Given that the rematch is merely six months after their first encounter, Frampton will likely get the nod once again. No doubt, Leo Santa Cruz has a solid chin and the Jackal may not get a stoppage here. But given Santa Cruz’s quantity and the Jackal’s quality, Carl Frampton should come out as the winner, by a clearer unanimous decision.

Carl Frampton vs. Leo Santa Cruz Rematch Set For January 28th, 2017

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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:

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:

The co-main event was confirmed by Lou DiBella who is the promoter of Zlaticanin. The event will be televised via Showtime.