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Crowd-pleaser Santa Cruz wants War – even if it hinders his chances of victory

Leo Santa Cruz believes that he has the physical advantages that would facilitate a “boring” win over Carl Frampton in their WBA featherweight title rematch on Saturday in Las Vegas.

However, despite this, the Mexican-American has promised that he will, at times, brawl at the MGM Grand Garden Arena – even if it plays into the gloves of Frampton.

‘El Terremoto’ gave a glimpse into his fight plan at the final press conference today in Sin City, and promised that he will approach the bout with a mix of styles.

Outlining the reasoning behind opting to forego his reach advantage, Santa Cruz described how “for this fight, people have said to me to go out there and use my distance and reach, that I don’t have to go in there and have a brawl with Carl Frampton, that I should be smart.”

“As a Mexican fighter, I like to give the fans a great fight, I try to please the fans. I always go to fight, to make it a war.

“I could use my distance, I could box, but I never do that that because sometimes that makes for a boring fight or not entertaining.”

That is not to say that Santa Cruz will not use his reach advantage – although this has been dismissed by Team Frampton as a smokescreen. The California-based three-weight world champ claims that he will adopt less of a come-forward style, but promised that he will go to the trenches at times.

“This fight, I have to think of myself, to be smart, and I have to use my distance, my reach.”

“I am going to try and do a little bit of everything. I am going to use my distance, I’m going to brawl, but most importantly I’m going to be smart. I’m going to try to do what I can to win this fight.”

Eric Donovan joins Gavan Casey and Joe O’Neill on Episode 2 of the Irish Boxing Show:

Joe O'Neill

Reporting on Irish boxing the past five years. Work has appeared on irish-boxing.com, Boxing News, the42.ie, and local and national media. Provide live ringside updates, occasional interviews, and special features on the future of Irish boxing. email: joneill6@tcd.ie

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