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Carl Frampton vs. Leo Santa Cruz rematch set for January

By Thomas Cathey

Jul 30, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Carl Frampton lands a punch to Leo Santa Cruz during their WBA super world featherweight championship boxing match at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 30, 2016; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Carl Frampton lands a punch to Leo Santa Cruz during their WBA super world featherweight championship boxing match at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports /
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Carl Frampton and Leo Santa Cruz will have a rematch in January in one of the year’s most anticipated bouts of the year.

Carl Frampton and Leo Santa Cruz will meet in a rematch of their first scrap back in July. The event will take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and will be aired on Showtime.

Last July 30, Santa Cruz and Frampton met in a battle of unbeaten featherweights. Santa Cruz had 32 wins without a loss and was the defending WBA belt holder. Making his third defense of the belt he won against Abner Mares last year, Santa Cruz was entering perhaps the biggest fight in his career. Frampton, who had 22 wins without a loss, was taking part in his first fight in the featherweight division. The Northern Irishman was coming off his biggest fight, a decision win against Scott Quigg in a 122-pound unification fight.

The first fight was one of the most highly anticipated matchups of 2016, and it did not disappoint. Both men stood right in front of the other and met each other punch for punch. It was a battle between Santa Cruz’s volume punching, and Frampton’s cleaner, more effective shots. in the end, the judges favored Frampton’s clean effective punching and awarded him the decision. The scores were 114-114, 116-112, 117-111, for Frampton.

Also on the card is former featherweight and super featherweight world champion Mikey Garcia (35-0, 29 KO’s). He will be challenging Montenegrin title holder Dejan Zlaticanin (22-0, 15 KO’s), who holds the WBC lightweight belt. Garcia is in his second fight of his comeback trail after a two-year layoff due to a promotional dispute with former promoter Bob Arum.

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His first fight back was against former world champion, Elio Rojas. After a tentative start, the 28-year old finally found his openings and stopped Rojas in the fifth round. The champion, Zlaticanin, has a few impressive wins on his resume, such as victories Ivan Redkach, Ricky Burns, and Petr Petrov.

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