New MTK signing Carl Frampton hopeful of “dream” Leo Santa Cruz rematch at Windsor Park

Carl Frampton is determined to bring Leo Santa Cruz to Belfast and the new MTK signing is hoping for a Windsor Park showdown with the WBA featherweight champ.

It was announced yesterday that Frampton [23(14)-1(0)] has linked up with the Irish outfit in an advisory capacity as his new team continues to form following last month’s departure from the McGuigan family.

The two-weight champion wants to fight again before the end of the year – which would be his first bout since losing to Santa Cruz in January – and then believes he can entice ‘El Terremoto’ to the Titanic City.

“That would be the dream come true to fight Leo in the third fight at Windsor Park and beat him, that would be pretty perfect and ideal. That’s an objective of mine to fight at Windsor one day and that’s what I want to do and hopefully, it will happen.”

“It’s the biggest venue in Belfast and I support Northern Ireland very passionately. The atmosphere has always been pretty incredible, you need to get to a match to understand it, there’s no other place like it and I want to put on a big boxing night to experience it, it would be a dream come true for me.”

“Hopefully, we can bring the names to this side of the pond, if not I’m always willing to travel. Belfast is special to me and I want to fight here a couple of times before my career is over.”

Santa Cruz isn’t the only potential opponent for Frampton, who is keen to underline his already cemented spot in Irish boxing history.

The Ulsterman noted how “Lee Selby is a potential fight that I want, Gary Russell Jnr, Abner Mares these are the kind of names and calibre of fighters that I want to face at some point. All of them would be difficult fights in their own right.”

“I’m happy in the featherweight division. I missed weight at my last weigh-in and I shouldn’t have done that, that was unprofessional, I am a featherweight and settled in the division for the meantime. In the future, I would like to target one of the big names up at super featherweight and stand alone in Ireland as a three-weight world champion.”

“I don’t have a definite date but I would like to be out before the end of the year.”