Don't Count out Carl Frampton in Showdown vs. Leo Santa Cruz

It’s not surprising that Carl Frampton will step through the ropes to challenge Leo Santa Cruz for the WBA Featherweight Championship July 30 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, as something of an underdog.

What is surprising is that so many people are completely writing off his chances.

Santa Cruz has made a career of using a high-octane, come-forward style built on putting his opponents under tremendous physical and mental strain. He’s like the Energizer Bunny in there; he just doesn’t stop coming forward and throwing punches.

Frampton, who is jumping up to 126 pounds, acknowledges that he’s drawing a tough assignment, but he feels that the move up in weight has given him the added power needed to stop his foe in his tracks.

“Well, it’s not going to be easy, but I think I can punch very hard, and I don’t think that Leo, he’s been in with some good opposition, but I don’t think he’s been hit by anyone that can punch as hard as me yet,” Frampton said during a media conference call.

“I’ve got good distance control. I can see things coming. Leo is going to come forward better, but when he’s getting hit hard he may have to think twice about coming forward so much.”

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Frampton is a former world champion who unified the super bantamweight division with an effective—if not aesthetically pleasing—split decision (it should've been unanimous) over Scott Quigg in a huge all-UK fight his last time out.

He’s only fought once in the United States but figures to have the lion’s share of crowd support in Brooklyn, given that New York City is traditionally a friendly locale for Irish fighters. They usually draw pretty well in the five boroughs.

Frampton’s American debut last year nearly ended in disaster, though. He was dropped twice in the opening round by unheralded Alejandro Gonzalez Jr. and had to come from behind to secure a unanimous decision from a fight that nearly derailed his plans to become a star on this side of the Atlantic.

A fight with an opponent the caliber and name recognition of Santa Cruz was a big part of that plan, and Frampton believes the slight vulnerability he showed against Gonzalez helped make this moment possible.

“This fight with Santa Cruz I don’t think would happen unless that happened, the Gonzalez fight,” Frampton said. “I’ve been chasing these guys a long time. I’ve wanted to fight them.

“I made myself available to Santa Cruz in 2013, I think, and the fight never happened, when he was at 122. But suddenly now all the guys that I’ve been chasing want to come and fight me. So that was a blessing in disguise, and I’m glad it happened, all the fights are happening. This is exactly what I want.”

Most fans already know what Santa Cruz can do when he’s at his absolute best.

The Mexican, who now lives in California, had the look and style to become one of boxing’s biggest stars and partly capitalized on it with high-profile assignments on pay-per-view cards that drew in millions of viewers.

The problem was that he took a slow path to stepping up his opposition level and took on a slew of underwhelming and overmatched opponents who didn’t do much to showcase his style or skill level.

But the Frampton bout, coming just two fights after knocking off his compatriot Abner Mares in an exciting fight, once again presents Santa Cruz with an opportunity to shine against a quality opponent in one of the better matchups that can be made in boxing.

Santa Cruz possesses physical advantages—he’s taller and has a substantial reach edge—that are going to be difficult nuts for Frampton to crack.

The Irish fighter understands that, but he believes that a new weight, which doesn’t require him to shred and drain his body, and preparation will be the difference.

“Most opponents I have faced have been taller than me. So I’m used to fighting guys that are taller than me,” Frampton said. “I’m going to be stronger, I’m going to be punching harder, I feel. And I’m going to be in front of him. And I will be able to push him back if I want to do that.

“So this is something that I don’t think Leo has come up against yet. I hope that he’s expecting a tough fight, because I’ve prepared very, very hard for this. I’m willing to put everything on the line and do anything really to get the win.”

Kevin McRae is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.