Jackal to put the bite on Cruz
Published:
Frampton will prove first fight was no fluke
Fight fans get the bout they have been hoping for on Saturday evening when Carl Frampton and Leo Santa Cruz face-off in a rematch for the WBA world featherweight title. Armchair fans are looked after thanks to Sky Sports, while Coral offer betting markets to add to your late-night enjoyment in Vegas.
The Jackal Carl Frampton beat Mexican Santa Cruz on his last outing back in the summer, but the fight ended in a majority decision in the Belfast slugger’s favour, ensuring the pair have unfinished business to take care of.
One of the three scoring judges that night, Guido Cavalleri, marked the contest up as a 114-114 even split. Thankfully his two colleagues saw it in Frampton’s favour, with margins of six rounds and four rounds, making a bit of a mockery of that draw.
The Brit has a potential super-fight with Welshman Lee Selby on the horizon, but he must get past this obstacle first and put the rivalry to bed once and for all. A knockout win at 7/2 with Coral would certainly achieve that, but Frampton hasn’t halted an opponent since February 2015. The 29-year-old orthodox has won each of his last three on points, four in-a-row is thought to be the way this one will go, at our 5/4 call. The defending champion is also 8/13 jolly to win regardless of the method.
Santa is coming
Opponent Leo Santa Cruz felt a bit hard done by last time, but he really had no call to and has now failed to win two of his 34 career starts. Cruz is a supremely talented athlete, there can be no doubt about that, but he scraped past fellow Mexican Abner Mares by majority decision in one of his most-recent starts, and did look well-beaten last time too.
Cruz to upset the champ by taking his belt is deemed an 11/8 poke when getting on with us, while revenge on the scorecards is sure to attract attention at 5/2. If you are siding with El Terremoto, then it’s worth noting that he boasts a 53 per cent KO average, and another early night is 9/2.
Frampton to prove his point
This promises to be a thrilling contest, and is exactly why followers of the noble art had this bout marked in their diary since it was announced. I do believe Frampton has the measure of Cruz and will go and prove it here. There was no dispute first time around for me and there should be even less here.
