Leo Santa Cruz Interview

By Showtime Boxing - 07/22/2016 - Comments

The main event on Saturday, July 30, again, SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXINGS beginning 9:00 p.m. Eastern time, 6:00 p.m. Pacific time, is one of the most anticipated matchups in the featherweight division, but really one of the most anticipated matchups in all of boxing and certainly all of the lower weight classes.

Leo Santa Cruz with a record of 32-0-1 with 18 KOs. One of the most exciting featherweights in the world. The same can be said of Carl Frampton, undefeated at 22-0 with 14 KOs from Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Leo Santa Cruz became WBA Super World’s Featherweight Champion on Aug. 29, 2015, when he beat Abner Mares by decision in a Fight of the Year candidate. He’s currently 11-0 in world title fights.

And he thus far has the distinction of having defeated seven current or former world champions, which is pretty amazing. He’s going to try to make that eight on July 30 when he takes on undefeated Carl Frampton. So from Rosemead, Calif., born in Mexico, Leo Santa Cruz.

Leo Santa Cruz

First of all, I want you thank everybody for having me here, and I’m just excited to come over to New York to be fighting for the fans, and hopefully getting new fans over there. I want to make new fans and and I will do that in New York.

Q

Does it matter to you that you’re going to be in your own country and probably not be the fan favorite? They’ll be rooting for him. What’s your thoughts about that?

L. Santa Cruz

It won’t really matter because once fight day comes, it’s only going to be me and Carl in the ring. The fans are the people, they’re not the ones fighting in the ring with us. It’s going to be a great fight. You have to go over there and make new fans, and you go make a great fight.

Q

What are your thoughts about his style of fighting and the way it seems you guys match up in a fight that is going to be very fan-friendly kind of fight?

L. Santa Cruz

Truly, I only have watched very few fights of him, but I’d say the little I have watched, he’s a great fighter. He has everything. He has great skills. He has good footwork great punches, and he has great power. His style is kind of like Mexican style.

He comes forward, a sign of a great fighter. And his style and my style are going to make for an interesting fight. We are going to go toe-to-toe. We’re going to go out there and give you a great fight for all the fans.

Q

Do you think he’s maybe going to be the best fighter you’ve faced so far?

L. Santa Cruz

Yes, I think so. He is undefeated, he has unified and he is a great fighter, like you said. He’s really a super star. So I think, yes, getting that victory, I can get to the next level, and get me one the biggest fight I can win.

Q

Can you talk about your preparation for this fight as you watch your father deal with his own illness and how it’s been in your camp, and if it is going to distract you at all? How is your dad doing?

L. Santa Cruz

Thank God, my dad, he’s doing much better now. At the beginning, it was really difficult. It was hard. My dad was taught, he told us that, these are God’s side; you can live that.

At the beginning, it was difficult and everything but the last couple of weeks, he was there in the camp. He was there each day doing what he had to do, so I think this chance, it’s been great. He’d promised that he’d come to the fight and not to give up.

Q

Will he be in the ring with you, in the corner with you on July 30?

L. Santa Cruz

Yes, hopefully, dad, yes, he is. I know he’s trying and I know he’s been great, and so I think he’s there in my corner on fight night.

Q

Leo, do you think about the style of Frampton is more like Abner Mares or is totally different?

L. Santa Cruz

It’s going to be a great fight. Because Frampton is strong, he is almost the same size as Mares. He comes forward when he wants to. He could box; he could do whatever he wants to. But he’s going to also do the same thing.

So I think he’s going to be a very interesting fight and it’s going to come down to whoever wants it the most is going to take it.

Q

Leo, do you want to just really take the fight to him. No boxing. Is that accurate, or are you going to do something like that with some adjustments here and there?

L. Santa Cruz

Yes. I’m going to do that. I’m going to go out there and take the fight to him and then stay on top of him, trying to get him tired, break him down, working the body and trying to hit him. And if that’s not working for us, we could make an adjustment. We could box smart from the outside and not let him come in.

We train in the gym for both sides of the match — from the inside or to be on the outside. Whatever works, that’s what we’re going to do.

Q

Leo, you and Carl both fought on the same night, back in February. Was he on your radar that night?

L Santa Cruz

My plan was that if I won the fight and if Carl won the fight I wanted to fight him next. I didn’t know it was going to happen but yes I was hoping they’d make the fight happen. I guess me and Carl Frampton, if we both won. And then I heard that he called me out so I did the same thing. I said if he wants to fight me, bring it over here. I’m ready to fight him too.

Q

Do you think it’s important that you draw him in a firefight or do you make him fight your fight for all 12 rounds, in order to win this fight?

L. Santa Cruz

I’m going to make the fight and I’m not going to be like Scott Quigg. Scott Quigg wasn’t trained as much to come forward and he was more careful. He was more on the outside. I think none of them were going to risk it. They didn’t want to take chances and none of them wanted to get caught. But not me.

I’m going to go out there and I’m going to make it a fight. I’m going to make him fight me. I’m going to go out there, pressure him and pressure him so that he’ll have no other choice but to stop and fight with me.

Q

Have you thought when this happened, of canceling the fight until your father was well? Or did he encourage you to say no, this is a business you’ve got to continue going?

Leo Santa Cruz

Yes, me and my brother reached out about maybe canceling the fight because we didn’t know how my dad was going to be, or if he would be in my corner or if he was going to be able to beat cancer. We didn’t know what was going to go on. So yes, we thought about it.

But then, you know, when we went to talk to my dad and told him about it he told us that no, that this is a job that even if he can’t be there then we still have to go out there and do what we do. I knew he was going to be happier if I went out there and fought. My dad would get strong and he said oh, no, no, no. This cancer is not going to beat me. I’m going to fight it. I’m going to fight it. I’m going to beat it and you’re going to go out there and do the same thing.

So that’s what his words were. It was a big help and then it made us come out here and work harder.

Q

Do you then have the ability to go from plan A to plan B or plan C or whatever, to offset what they bring to the table which you may not have been prepared for?

L. Santa Cruz

Yes. Of course. I could adjust to like whatever the fighter brings, to modify. With Frampton we’re going to do the same thing. We’re going to go out there and we’re going to stay in there, we’re going to try to make it a war. Because that’s what our fans love. They love to see a great fight.

Q

Is it more difficult to face an undefeated fighter?

L. Santa Cruz

Yes, it is more difficult and we know that he’s undefeated. He hasn’t tasted defeat. I know he’s going to come with everything because he’s not going to want to let that all go. But at the same time that’s also more motivation for me, because I know he hasn’t lost and I want to be the first one to give him his first loss.

I want to go out there and beat him and that way I’ll be considered one of the best.

Q

Are you going to try to make this an exciting fight like your previous bouts?

L. Santa Cruz

Yes this fight it could be a fight of the year or a great fight like against Abner Mares and Kiko

Martinez.

Carl Frampton is a great fighter. He has everything. He has great skills, footwork, great puncher,

he has great power. So that being said, it’s a big fight, it’s going to be entertaining and what

we’re going to do is we’re going to go out there and make it a great fight for them.

L. DiBella

Thank you Leo. And, Leo — I just want you to know that all of us in the entire boxing

world are praying for your dad and thank you for your dad. And we look forward to seeing you

next week, in Brooklyn.

L. Santa Cruz

Yes, thank you guys for your prayers and yes, my dad right now he’s doing great. Thank

God. And hopefully he continues to beat cancer.