by Cliff Rold

Leo Santa Cruz was clearly a very good fighter even before he found a way to turn the tables on the lone man to beat him to date. In victory, he expanded his own ceiling while setting the stage for what could be a compelling rubber match.

Jr. featherweight hasn’t had a compelling rivalry since the wars between Israel Vazquez and Rafael Marquez. Santa Cruz and Carl Frampton haven’t hit that level of mayhem and likely won’t. They don’t have to. They are telling their own story and have provided the fans twenty-four fast paced, thrilling rounds. Add them all together and there isn’t a ton to separate them. 

They can do it again whenever they’re ready and it will probably be another coin flip the last.

Let’s go to the report card.

Grades

Pre-Fight: Speed – Santa Cruz B+; Frampton B+/Post: Same

Pre-Fight: Power – Santa Cruz B; Frampton B/Post: Same

Pre-Fight: Defense – Santa Cruz B; Frampton B/Post: Same

Pre-Fight: Intangibles – Santa Cruz A; Frampton A/Post: Same

Frampton defeated Santa Cruz the first time by going inside, countering, and taking away the reach edge of his foe. This time, Santa Cruz did a much better job of taking advantage of his physical edges. His jab was better and that meant a more difficult assignment for Frampton.

More than his jab, Santa Cruz showed plenty of patience particularly early in the fight. This time he was the one getting off the counters early, controlling the first few frames as Frampton tried to solve his approach. When the Irishman got close, he found heavy body shots to keep him guessing.

He didn’t stay out of the fight. Frampton gradually worked his way into the fight and showed off his excellent head movement in critical stretches, making Santa Cruz miss more as the fight wore on. Through two fights, both men have shown off the ability to make the other man miss. If there is something stopping them from hitting the heights of a Vazquez-Marquez, it is defensive responsibility that limits both from maintaining punching accuracy.

There are spots where the action is so frenzied as to be almost flailing. It’s not much of a sin. When two guys throw a combined total of more than one thousand punches, they’re going to miss plenty. They still landed a bunch.

According to the punch stats, Santa Cruz threw and landed more in almost every round. In the pre-fight report card, it noted that saying Santa Cruz just needed to land more might be too simple. In the end, it wasn’t. He got to the target more often. There was reason in the flow of the action to see rounds for Frampton, and an even score wasn’t egregious. The nods for Santa Cruz felt more than fair. Even Frampton agreed.

He landed right where he wanted to in the end. As a credit to both men, they were perfect sportsmen at the end. It’s a matter of time until we see it again.

That will be time well spent anticipating a thrilling final chapter.

Report Card and Staff Picks 2017: 1-3

Cliff’s Notes…

Picking Dejan Zlaticanin over Mikey Garcia couldn’t have been more wrong. Garcia didn’t just look all the way back. He looked better than he did before he took two years off in a contract dispute. Garcia’s use of the jab was perfection from the start. His power has clearly carried to lightweight against a solid opponent with some notable wins in the class. The knockout of Zlaticanin was scary, proficient, and final. Welcome back Mikey Garcia. This corner won’t be underrating you again anytime soon.   

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com