To Immediate Rematch Or Not To Immediate Rematch

By Andreas Hale

It appears that we’re about to add another entry into boxing’s book of great trilogies after Leo Santa Cruz squeezed out a majority decision in his rematch with Carl Frampton last weekend. Clearly, these two are made for each other. While the first fight was a barnburner and “Fight of the Year” candidate, the rematch found Santa Cruz taking a more measured approach to the fight and went from a hurricane of punches to a strategic twister.

Now that the dust has settled from their second encounter, conversation has already shifted to when and where will the third fight happen. But the real question is whether or not these two should dive directly into another fight or go their separate ways before meeting again down the line.

Historically, boxing’s great trilogies are not normally fought back-to-back-to-back. Riddick Bowe and Evander Holyfield needed three years to complete the trifecta and faced other opponents before clashing again. Muhammad Ali needed an extended break from both Joe Frazier and Ken Norton before settling their differences. The same can be said for Erik Morales, who needed a fight in between his feuds with Manny Pacquiao and Marco Antonio Barrera.

However, when the demand is there, why wait? Arturo Gatti and Mickey Ward tore the house down in consecutive fights in a 13-month span that ultimately ended Ward’s career with Gatti not too far behind him. But what makes the Santa Cruz and Frampton feud so special is the fact that these are two fighters who engaged each other with zeroes in the loss column. It’s rare that we get a pair of high caliber fighters with unbeaten records competing in closely contested battles. But with the results being extraordinarily narrow in both encounters, fight fans are being presented with something totally unique and quite special.

So should boxing fans be forced to wait and allow these two gladiators to experience other opponents and possibly learn something different about themselves before coming back together? Or should they go right into round 25 and settle their differences once and for all.

There are pros and cons to both scenarios.

If allowed to face other opponents, there’s always a lingering risk that one of them suffers a loss and the marketability of the third fight is dealt a blow. After all, the intrigue that comes with this trilogy is that these two have only lost to each other, right. Then again, Evander Holyfield dropping a majority decision to Michael Moorer after getting his revenge against Riddick Bowe didn’t really affect their third fight, did it?

Perhaps having a different look would be refreshing for both fighters. The muscle memory of facing each other probably wouldn’t allow us to see a fight that would be much different from their previous encounters. If Santa Cruz and Frampton took on different opponents, they could return to each other with a new bag of tricks acquired in preparation for different opponents. Thus giving the third encounter between the two an altered pattern.

And maybe, just maybe, these two are sick of preparing for one another.

On the other side of the coin, the demand for a third fight is probably higher than it will be at any other time. Both are incensed to prove that they are the better man and after a pair of fights that were so closely contested, it’s likely that Frampton and Santa Cruz would prefer to settle this now rather than later. There’s really no need for either to take another fight against another opponent. You can argue that Gary Russell Jr. is deserving of a fight against one of these two fighters to prove that he belongs in the discussion of featherweight supremacy. However, Russell can wait while these two face off again so that we know who is the better fighter. And then that fighter can move on to face Russell.

Also, there’s a strategic element for these two considering how they approached their respective fights. Santa Cruz initially thought he could overpower Frampton with his high punch volume and aggression. But he quickly found out that The Jackal was capable of making the proper adjustments to offset the constant barrage of punches the 28-year-old had become known for. As for Frampton, he just as quickly found out that Santa Cruz was just as capable of altering his game plan in the rematch and was clearly surprised at El Terremoto’s ability to establish a jab and use his reach to keep the Belfast fighter guessing.

With that fresh on their brain, there’s no doubt that they would be motivated for an immediate third encounter. But are the fans exhausted from seeing these two? It’s plausible that boxing fans need a break from these two regardless of how good the first two fights were. If Frampton and Santa Cruz were to go out and thoroughly dominate opponents outside of one another, it could help build the hype for a rematch by building a narrative that these two can dominate everyone but each other. And it’s not like these two broke ratings records, either. Maybe the rubber match could use a boost.

Either way, we’re going to get a third fight between Carl Frampton and Leo Santa Cruz. After years of fight fans being rewarded with top tier fighters against overmatched opponents, we are getting to see what happens when the best fight the best when they are both in their respective primes. Fight fans deserve more of this and less of fighters being overprotected before taking on the cream of the crop.

Whenever it happens, Leo Santa Cruz vs. Carl Frampton 3 will be welcome with open arms.