Frampton Moves Up, Santa Cruz Hopes to Keep Him Down

Frampton (left) and Santa Cruz (right) pose at press conference in NYC

This weekend, live from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Premiere Boxing Champions and Showtime Sports present the 126 pound title bout between WBA titlist Leo Santa Cruz and IBF and WBA 122 pound titlist, Irishman Carl Frampton and also features the return of Mikey Garcia who faces Elio Rojas in a junior welterweight fight.

Frampton unified the IBF and WBA 122 lb titles

The main event is an important bout for the featherweight ranks. In his first fight at featherweight, Belfast’s Carl Frampton enters the division after beating former 122 pound Scott Quigg in a rather dull affair.  While their 122 pound unification bout generated a lot of buzz across the pond, the fight ended up being a dud as both fighters appeared tight and unwilling to exchange punches.

Frampton lands a rare right hand on Scott Quigg

It might have been considered a chess match, but honestly, even chess matches produce more action.

Looking to wash out the bad taste left from his fight with Quigg, Frampton moves up in weight to face three division champion, Leo Santa Cruz.  Santa Cruz, born in Michoacán, Mexico and currently living in California is no stranger to moving up in weight.
  
Santa Cruz captured his first world title at 118 pounds, and only five fights later would add the 122 pound title to his collection. In 2015, Santa Cruz moved up once again to fight WBA featherweight champion, Abner Mares.  In an exciting, action packed bout, Santa Cruz proved too much for the highly respected Mares and came away with a majority decision.

Santa Cruz (right) defeated Mares (left)
by majority decision

As a matchup, Santa Cruz versus Frampton will be anything but a chess match (no fight with Santa Cruz could ever be). Santa Cruz is a very aggressive, high output, stalker, while Frampton is more of a counter puncher who can also lead with his offense. These two styles should mesh very well as Santa Cruz will most likely attempt to walk Frampton down and produce plenty of opportunities for Frampton to counter.

What will be interesting to see is if Frampton will be able to overcome Santa Cruz’s advantages in height, reach and punch output. Frampton is very versatile in that he can fight well when moving away from his opponent or when backing his opponent up.  He uses a wide variety of punches and has quick hands to deliver them. Standing at 5’5”, Frampton has a short, but compact frame. He is also able to close the distance on taller opponents. Frampton’s fight versus Alejandro Gonzalez Jr comes to mind as Gonzalez is similar in stature and boxing style to Santa Cruz (both are listed at 5’7”). Gonzalez was tough, but lacked the activity level that Santa Cruz will bring. Outside of a disastrous opening round, Frampton dealt with his taller and longer opponent quite easily en route to a unanimous decision.

Santa Cruz’s success may come down to his ability to cut the ring off on Frampton and not allowing him to set the rhythm and pace of the fight. While Frampton is quick on the draw with his 1-2 combinations, he often admires his work and gets careless after he’s done punching. Santa Cruz has quick hands himself and will be willing to punch with Frampton when he decides to open up.  Santa Cruz also attacks the body consistently, and this will be key in the later rounds as it would hamper Frampton’s ability to use his legs to move in and out of his opponent’s punching range.

The main event is a solid matchup of styles and now that it appears promotional doorways are opening up between PBC and Top Rank fighters, the possibilities for exciting matchups in the featherweight division look very bright.

Garcia (left) drops Orlando Salido (right) 

On the undercard 28 year-old Mikey Garcia (34-0, 28 Kos) ends a two and half year hiatus from the ring to face Elio Rojas (24-2, 14 KOs). Now that Mikey has finally put his promotional issues behind him, he is ready to resume his boxing career and what at time it is to be back. This is unquestionably a showcase fight for Garcia as he looks to shake off any rust from the layoff. Rojas, a former WBC featherweight champion, is coming off a two year layoff of his own. In reality, though Rojas is a very capable boxer and former world champion, he is not expected to give Garcia too much trouble. This fight is more about Garcia getting settled back into the ring so he can begin a lightweight title run by the end of the year.

This Bud's Not For Me

Crawford defeated Postol by unanimous decision

Terence Crawford dominated Viktor Postol this past Saturday night dropping Postol twice to earn a unanimous decision. Crawford (29-0, 20 KOs) handed Postol (28-1, 12 KOs) his first loss and thus has put himself at the top of the 140 pound hill with the win. But was this truly Crawford’s coming out party or did his latest victory do more harm than good?

Saturday’s pay-per-view event took a chance on buy in from hardcore followers of boxing. Outside of names like Pacquiao, Mayweather, or even Adrien Broner, casual fans would be hard pressed to tell you who Terence Crawford was or what division he fought in, much less anything about his opponent Viktor Postol. It was Crawford’s stage and his opportunity to enter the murky and unpredictable pay-per-view market.

Ever since “The Fight of The Century” between Mayweather and Pacquiao (and its abysmal undercard) set records for the most pay-per-view buys, many fight fans, both casual and hardcore alike, felt cheated. Pay-per-view buys for every event since have sharply declined, even for fighters with huge followings like Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Miguel Cotto.

In dominating Postol, Crawford implemented a strategy that took what could be considered a very “Mayweather-esque” approach; move around and away from your opponent and pot shot your way to a decision win.  While one could appreciate how easily Crawford beat Postol (and switching to a southpaw stance for the entirety of the fight), after some tense moments early, it was not exciting to watch.

Crawford lands a counter left hand
dropping Postol in the 5th round

The timing could not have been worse for such a performance. Had the fight been on regular HBO, criticism of the fight might not be as harsh. After all, there is an old saying in boxing, “win this fight, and look good in the next.” But those who watched the fight were a paying audience. It is highly unlikely he secured any future pay-per-view buys from those who forked out the $49.99/$59.99 HD to watch.

Even the aforementioned Mayweather, who only late in his career took on a very cautious defensive approach, made a splash upon entering the pay-per-view market. His fight against Arturo Gatti was an out right demolition. Mayweather attacked Gatti from round one and once he knew Gatti had nothing to offer in return, he never let up. In doing so, Mayweather created demand to see him again (and some fans paid to see him lose).

In fairness, Postol was not only a much more skilled fighter than Gatti, he was widely considered the #1 fighter in his division. The first 4 rounds were closely contested. but by the 5th round Crawford found his groove and was able to counter Postol at will. He showed that he was a level above Postol and yet he still chose to play it safe for the rest of the fight. 

There's no doubt Crawford is a star in the making. But this fighting style will not make him a star. He did not make a strong case to be a must see fighter, nor one that should be Manny Pacquiao's next opponent, if rumors of Pacquiao's return are true. We already saw what that fight would look like and no one wants to pay to see that again.

Valdez drops Ruedas with a left hook to the body

One fighter that did use his moment in the spotlight to shine was Mexico’s latest addition to the country’s long line of featherweight fighters, Oscar Valdez. Valdez absolutely blitzed Argentinian fighter Matias Rueda who looked completely out of his depth. From the first round, Valdez established his superiority, with amazing quickness, landing lead right hands and counter left hooks at will. Valdez would stop Ruedas after dropping him twice in the 2nd round.

If there was one fighter that proved he was worth watching again, it was Oscar Valdez.

Also on the undercard, Jose Benavidez turned back the challenge of Francisco “Chia” Santana winning a unanimous decision after twelve heated rounds in their welterweight bout. Benavidez, who once again looked gassed early in a fight, gutted out the win using accurate power punches and superior footwork to overcome Santana’s pressuring and smothering tactics. With the win, Benavidez improves to 25-0, 16 KOs.

Valdez & Benavidez Look To Bigger and Better Things on Crawford-Postol Undercard

From left to right: Francisco "Chia" Santana, Oscar Valdez, Matias Rueda, and Jose Benavidez

This Saturday’s pay-per-view will not only spotlight the main event featuring Terrance “Bud” Crawford and Viktor Postol, but also two young up and coming fighters from the stable of promotional powerhouse, Top Rank. In separate undercard bouts, welterweight Jose Benavidez and featherweight Oscar Valdez look to secure victories that will true contenders in their respective divisions.

 I remember seeing Jose Benavidez first fight back in 2010, on the undercard of Pacquiao versus Margarito. Hailing from Phoenix, Arizona, Benavidez, 8-0 at the time, was a tall, lanky kid and showed a fiery spirit in that bout against Winston Mathis.  Though Benavidez would stop Mathis in the 3rd round of an entertaining affair, you got the sense that he made the fight tougher than it needed to be and that’s pretty much how his career can be summed up until this point.

Benavidez earned a questionable
decision against Herrera

Hampered by promotional issues and injuries, Benavidez found his big moment on HBO versus the always tough Mauricio Herrera in 2014. Benavidez would look sharp early in the fight, landing his offense at will, but Herrera would weather the storm and take Benavidez deep into the later rounds forcing a close, but questionably scored unanimous decision. The former amateur standout would get the nod versus Herrera and fight two more times with uninspiring performances.

"Chia" Santana beat previously undefeated
Eddie Gomez by UD

This Saturday he fights a highly motivated Franciso “Chia” Santana (24-4-1, 11 KOs), a former sparring partner for Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, who appears to be rejuvenated and is looking to capitalize on this huge opportunity with a win of his own.  If the past is any indication, Benavidez is in for a long night as he has a reputation for not taking his career very seriously. Benavidez has a very serious opponent in front of him and if he is able to tap into any of the promise he showed early on in his career, it should be a seriously entertaining fight.

In his last bout Valdez stopped Gradovich in the 4th round

In the co-featured bout of the night, another young fighter will showcase his skills and attempt to put himself in the featherweight title picture.  Also a former amateur standout, the two-time Olympian, Oscar Valdez (19-0, 17 KOs) will face undefeated Argentinian knockout artist Matias Rueda (26-0, 23 KOs). Valdez has all of the makings of a future star in the sport. With blazing speed and a willingness to engage with his opponents, Valdez not only tantalizes with his skill set, he also has a crowd pleasing style.

Born in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, Valdez took a rare path to start his boxing career. While most Mexican fighters immediately turn pro at the age of 16 in order to earn money as soon as possible, Valdez competed in Mexico’s amateur ranks and represented Mexico in the 2008 and 2012 Olympic games.  Valdez has the pedigree and talent to go far, but he faces his toughest test in Rueda.

Rueda has never fought outside of Argentina

Although Saturday will be the first time both Valdez and Rueda have faced an undefeated fighter, Valdez appears to have faced the higher quality competition. Rueda has never fought outside of his native Argentina, which is usually a bad sign (try telling that to Marcos Maidana or Lucas Matthysse, but I digress).  It is not uncommon for foreign fighters that have “built up” their records fighting in their hometowns to have faced very limited opposition.  Seeing some tape on Rueda, he looks to have genuine power in both hands, particularly the left hook to the body, but whether he has the ability to land that power on Valdez is another story. 

Yes, Terrance Crawford and Viktor Postol have a very important fight of their own tomorrow night, but they aren’t alone. The stakes are high for the fighters on the undercard as well, which should make for an interesting night of boxing all around.  Now the only question might be, will it be worth the $49.99 price tag?  My money is on "yes."

Prediction:
Postol wins via close UD
Valdez off the canvas to win via UD
Benavidez wins via late round stoppage

Is Brook Up For This Special Task?

A few months ago, if you had asked who the best welterweight was, the general consensus among boxing fans would be that Kell Brook was the cream of the welterweight division’s deeply talented crop. A big welterweight for the division, Brook has all of the tools, a good defense, speed, a varied attack, counter punching ability and punching power. Having bested Shawn Porter by majority decision (in what seemed to be much easier fashion than Keith Thurman did this past June) Brook was considered by many the favorite to beat the top fighters in his division.

So it is with some surprise that Brook, who goes by the nickname “Special K,” was almost immediately written off when his fight with current middleweight kingpin, Gennady Gennadyevich Golovkin was announced to take place at the O2 Arena in London. Make no mistake, for any fighter at 160 pounds, let alone below, fighting Golovkin would prove to be a daunting task. Heralded for his knockout power and technical prowess, Golovkin is currently riding a 22 fight knockout streak, has yet to be defeated and has the most middleweight title defenses since Bernard Hopkins’ legendary reign from 1995 to 2002. Given all of that, you might ask, why would anyone find it surprising that Brook is a decidedly heavy underdog? That’s because what Brook is attempting to do is not without precedent.

Throughout boxing history many fighters have jumped up multiple weight divisions to conquer champions who were thought to be too big and too good. Fighters like Bob Fitzsimmons, Henry Armstrong, Barney Ross, Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, Shane Mosely, Oscar De La Hoya, Roy Jones Jr., Floyd Mayweather, and Manny Pacquiao plastered their names on the walls of boxing history with career defining victories in weight classes far from the weights where they began their careers.  It is true, some of these fighters were more methodical with their rise in weight (Mayweather and De La Hoya come to mind) while others skipped whole weight classes altogether. 

There are of course many more fighters that have tried to accomplish this same feat and failed. What separated those that were successful from those that were not was plain and simple; those fighters were special.  And that is all that Kell Brook is basically saying. He believes he is a special fighter. His belief is so strong that he aims to prove this versus the best middleweight we have seen in over a decade. Is Brook as special as he thinks he is? Can he beat the odds and do what only a select group of fighters have been able to accomplish?  No one will know for sure until September 10th, but what we do know is that it has been done before. And that is why they fight the fights.