Big Test in the Big Apple: Carl Frampton Can Find a Way to Beat Leo Santa Cruz

After beating domestic rival Scott Quigg in February to become a unified world champion at super bantamweight, Carl "The Jackal" Frampton found himself with options.

A rematch with Quigg—the man he defeated to add the WBA title to the IBF crown he already had in his possession—was a non-starter, considering his long-time adversary suffered a broken jaw in their bout at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.

Yet Frampton was never likely to go back over old ground, at least not right away.

The Jackal admitted as much in the immediate aftermath, per Ben Dirs of BBC Sport: "If I have to have a rematch and the public demands it, no problem.

"But I'd rather move on to bigger and better things. The world's our oyster."

In announcing he will step up to featherweight to face Leo Santa Cruz, Frampton has stayed true to his word.

The fight will take place in New York during the summer, per the Press Association (h/t the Guardian). A date and exact location, however, have yet to be confirmed.

Boxing Monthly summed up Frampton against Santa Cruz in a well-worded tweet:

Santa Cruz is definitely a big test for Frampton. The Mexican has campaigned at featherweight for his last three fights and is the holder of the WBA title at 126 pounds.

But is he better than anyone Frampton has faced before? Wins over Abner Mares and Kiko Martinez in his last two outings would suggest as much, but that point is a matter of opinion.

It should not be forgotten that Quigg was an undefeated world champion before he faced the Northern Irishman earlier this year, although Santa Cruz is ranked No. 3 in the featherweight division by The Ring magazine.

Frampton had flirted with the idea of moving up in weight before.

After climbing off the canvas twice to beat Alejandro Gonzalez Jr. on points on his American debut in July 2015, he told ITV Sport (h/t the Guardian): "I have to seriously consider whether to stay at this weight or go to featherweight. I had a lot of weight to take off during the last few days before the fight."

He stuck around at super bantam for the lucrative fight with Quigg but showed little interest in defending his newly acquired WBA title against Cuban Guillermo Rigondeaux, per Richard Damerell of SkySports.com.

Stripped of that belt, Frampton has made his life a little easier by switching to featherweight. While four pounds may not seem much to most of us, it is a much bigger deal for a boxer.

Fighting for the WBA belt at featherweight is also a big deal for historical reasons. Barry McGuigan—Frampton’s manager—is a former holder of the crown, adding an interesting twist to the storyline.

McGuigan lost the title on American soil in the summer of 1986. Fighting outdoors against Steve Cruz, the Clones Cyclone wilted in the Las Vegas heat, losing on points.

Frampton is confident the same doesn’t happen to him (although it seems unlikely his bout will take place outside), telling Frank Brownlow of the Belfast Telegraph:

"

It's a really special opportunity, the kind of fight that dreams are made of—and its an opportunity to win the World belt that my manager Barry McGuigan won in 1985.

It's 30 years since Barry lost the title in Las Vegas to Steve Cruz and now I'm fighting a Cruz for the same title in the States. It's going to bring back a lot of memories for people.

Some will be saying that Barry lost to a Cruz in America and maybe I will. But I am going there with a lot of confidence.

"

For Frampton to succeed, he will have to work out a way to deal with his opponent’s size advantage.

According to BoxRec, El Terremoto stands at 5’7.5” and has a reach of 69”. In contrast, Frampton is 5’5” tall, with his reach measured at 62”.

Still, the 5’8” Quigg couldn’t make the most of his height earlier this year. Chris Avalos is 5’7” tall, and Frampton stopped him in Round 5 in February 2015.

Gonzalez (5'7") was taller, too. But once Frampton focused on the task at hand, rather than trying to put on a show while appearing on a Premier Boxing Champions card, size didn't matter.

Santa Cruz—a three-weight world champion—may be tall, but he also throws a high volume of shots.

Bob Canobbio pointed out for CompuBox that the 27-year-old averaged 99 punches a round during his five fights in 2012.

Such a high work rate, coupled with his physical size, could wear down Frampton over time.

However, Northern Irishman Dave McAuley believes his compatriot can rise to the challenge, the former flyweight world champion telling the Belfast News Letter: "He [Frampton] has the gift that if the fighter is awful—he will be slightly better and if the fighter is good—he will be slightly better, And if the other guy is very good—Carl will be slightly better, We have not seen the best of him and the better the fighter he faces, the better he will become."

Frampton has also shown his ability to adapt on his route to the top.

In his second of two fights with Martinez, he kept his distance and dominated with his superior boxing skills, leading to a points win. Against Avalos, he picked apart a wild puncher to force a stoppage.

Santa Cruz also coped easily with the pressurising tactics of Martinez, knocking him down twice in Round 1. The Spaniard did rally from the double setback, but he was stopped on his feet in Round 5.

For Frampton, fighting Santa Cruz is a wonderful opportunity. He can become a two-weight world champion on American soil, as well as a leading figure in a well-stocked division.

A unification fight with Welshman Lee Selby—the IBF holder—would be easy to make back in Britain before the end of the year.

The two camps have formed a working relationship, as Sanigar Events—who look after Selby—is teaming up with Cyclone Promotions to co-promote Lee Haskins' fight with Ivan Morales on May 14, per Boxing Wales.

As for the other champions at featherweight, Vasyl Lomachenko and Gary Russell Jr. hold the WBO and WBC titles respectively. It could be argued that taking on either of the duo would be a step up again from Cruz, with The Ring ranking them both above the Mexican.

If Frampton can follow in the footsteps of his famous manager and become the WBA champion, he will again be in the wonderful position of having options.

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