Tonight from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, current WBA Featherweight champion Leo Santa Cruz (32-0-1, 18 KOs) will defend his title against former unified Super Bantamweight Champion Carl Frampton (22-0, 14 KOs) in what is being billed as one of the premier match-ups of the entire boxing year!!
The 126 pound contest will be televised on Showtime Championship Boxing, with a start time of 9PM ET, with British coverage beginning at 2AM BST on BoxNation online and Sky Sports channel 437.
The SCB broadcast will also feature the return of Mikey Garcia (-3000), as he takes on Elio Rojas (+1400) at a 140 pounds, a 12 round Junior Middleweight IBF title eliminator contest between Tony Harrison (-290) and Sergey Rabchenko (+230), and a special 10 round attraction with Showtime analyst Paulie Malignaggi (-450) against Gabe Bracero (+355).
Although a lot of talent will be on display this evening in NYC, all eyes will be focused on the Featherweight super fight between “El Teremoto” and “The Jackal”!! This contest not only pits two undefeated, elite level talents in the same ring, but the fan friendly clash of styles should provide plenty of drama for as long or as short as the scheduled twelve round bout lasts.
Who will win this superb battle of unbeaten champions? __________________________________________________________
Santa Cruz vs Frampton: Prediction and odds
(-340)Leo Santa Cruz (32-0-1, 18 KOs)
The undefeated, Mexican born champion has one primary key to victory for this evening: “Persistence wears down Resistance”!!
Although his opponent will indeed prove to be troublesome in the early to mid rounds of this contest, Santa Cruz cannot get discouraged if he isn’t able to successfully cut off the ring and close the distance right away. Leo has to stick to his gameplan of pressuring Frampton and forcing the fight in the pocket as much as possible.
Because the title challenger has the better reflexes and boxing ability from mid to long range, the 27 year old champ has to force the action, work behind a mixture of jabs while moving in range, and punish Carl to the body and head once he gets there to be successful this evening. Also, when throwing out his jab to the body and head, Santa Cruz has to be careful not to walk into the pull-counter right hand to the face. His opponent has deceptive power and amazingly broke his opponent’s jaw with the aforementioned punch in the fourth round of his most recent effort. So Leo absolutely has to be mindful of Carl’s power and cannot let his hands go while standing too far out of range. He needs to cut off Frampton’s reaction time to be victorious tonight!!
If the reigning champ can successfully cut off the ring, close the distance and rip creative combinations to the body and head when he gets there, Leo Santa Cruz will successfully retain his Super WBA Featherweight Championship!!
(+280) Carl Frampton (22-0, 14 KOs)
The former IBF/WBA Super Bantamweight champion must fight a seemingly perfect fight if he wants to pull off the upset and score his biggest victory to date.
His primary key to victory for this evening’s main event is to keep everything from mid to long range as much as humanly possible against one of the most effective aggressors in boxing. He can accomplish this by establishing his underrated jab to the body and head while his opponent attempts to close the distance and work his way inside, while stepping around Leo and turning him regularly. A healthy mixture of feints, touch jabs and forceful, sticking jabs to the body and head, while immediately stepping around his aggressive minded opponent, will consistently stop the champion in his tracks and force him to reset.
Carl also has to get the reigning title holder’s respect by occasionally landing the counter straight right hand over the mid range jab to create a more tentative mentality in the customarily relentless Mexican fighter. If Carl gets trapped in a corner or gets pinned against the ropes, he absolutely must tie his opponent up or ultimately run the risk of getting picked apart and hurt badly underneath.
If the former 122 pound champion can successfully establish his jab while using lateral movement to keep the current title holder off balance and control range, Carl “The Jackal” Frampton could become the new WBA Featherweight Champion!!
Prediction
Although most experts can easily see both of the aforementioned conclusions realistically playing out this evening, the betting favorite will prove to be too much for the visiting boxer/puncher. Despite having some difficulty during the early to mid periods of the scheduled twelve round contest, expect to see Leo Santa Cruz shorten the distance between the two fighters and begin to punish Carl Frampton on the inside. This will ultimately slow down the former champion from Northern Ireland and give the current title holder a more stationary target in the back half of the fight.
Leo Santa Cruz TKO10 over Carl Frampton
