Carl Frampton looks to win title in second weight class
— -- Thirty-one years ago, June 8, 1985 to be exact, Irish hero Barry McGuigan ended the seven-year featherweight title reign of fellow Hall of Famer Eusebio Pedroza by winning a 15-round decision, the greatest triumph of his career.
That was nearly two years before Carl Frampton was born. Frampton, of course, would grow up to become, along with McGuigan, one of the finest prize fighters to come out of Northern Ireland. And in storybook fashion, it was McGuigan, serving as Frampton's manager, who guided him to a junior featherweight world title in 2014 and a unified title in February when Frampton outpointed England's Scott Quigg in a huge fight.
But having beaten his greatest rival at 122 pounds, and having trouble making the weight, Frampton (22-0, 14 KOs) decided it was time to move up to featherweight for his next challenge. It will come against formidable featherweight titleholder Leo Santa Cruz (32-0-1, 18 KOs), a three-division titlist, in the main event of a tripleheader on Saturday (Showtime, 9 p.m. ET with preliminary bouts on Showtime Extreme beginning at 7 p.m. ET/PT) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Frampton, the underdog, has the opportunity to surpass his mentor McGuigan in terms of winning a title in a second weight class and, if successful, he would claim the same WBA belt McGuigan won all those years ago. Both mean a lot to Frampton.
"I'm completely up for it. I'm excited to bring a big crowd over here, and I'm going to do everything I can to have my hand raised," said Frampton, who will be boxing in the United States for the second time. "Obviously I have enough motivation on my own, but it would be nice to bring back the title that Barry once owned. It feels a bit like destiny for me. It's my turn to win it back for him. I'm doing this for my whole team. I'm doing this for my family, and I'm doing this for my entire country."
Frampton, who is trained by Shane McGuigan, Barry's son, would also become the second Irish fighter to win a title in a second weight division.
"It would be huge," Frampton said. "There's been one other Irishman that's won world titles in two weight divisions and that was Steve Collins (at middleweight and super middleweight in the mid-1990s). But there has never been another Irishman that's done it. I'd be making a better history for myself. It's going to be nice to win back the title that Barry owned 30 years ago -- that WBA title as featherweight. I feel like it might be time for me to make history. I'm ready for this fight. I have been for a long time."
Said Shane McGuigan: "This fight is history in the making. It's a fight that can really put Carl on the map. It's always a huge opportunity when you're fighting for a title against someone of Santa Cruz's caliber. I wouldn't be taking on this fight if I wasn't extremely confident in Carl, even though he's coming in as the underdog. I don't think Santa Cruz has ever felt the power that Carl brings before. I think Carl can beat him comfortably."
In the 10-round junior welterweight co-feature, former featherweight and junior lightweight titleholder Mikey Garcia (34-0, 28 KOs) of Ventura, California, who has been idle for 2½ years because of a legal battle over his promotional contract, will return and face former featherweight titlist Elio Rojas (24-2, 14 KOs) of the Dominican Republic. Rojas is coming off a 23-month layoff.
In the opener of the tripleheader, junior middleweight contenders Tony Harrison (23-1, 19 KOs), of Detroit, and the Ricky Hatton-trained Sergey Rabchenko (27-1, 20 KOs), of Belarus, will meet in a world title elimination bout.
There are also two other 10-round bouts on the Showtime Extreme portion of the card: former welterweight and junior welterweight world titleholder Paulie Malignaggi (35-7, 7 KOs) against Brooklyn neighborhood rival Gabriel "Tito" Bracero (24-2, 5 KOs) at welterweight fight and Ukrainian lightweight Ivan Redkach (19-1-1, 15 KOs) against Philadelphia's Tevin Farmer (21-4-1, 5 KOs).
McGuigan made two successful title defenses, and then he traveled in 1986 to Las Vegas, where he lost it by 15-round decision to Steve Cruz in an outdoor venue in triple-digit heat which he was not ready to handle. McGuigan fought only four more times, as a junior lightweight, but never got a chance to challenge for a title in a second weight class.
He is happy to see Frampton with a chance to do what he could not, but he isn't exactly emotional about it.
"It's wonderful that Carl is getting the chance to fight for the 126-pound title. We don't really go into the sentimental stuff very much. It's just a job," McGuigan said. "At 126 (pounds), he's so much stronger, and camp has been fantastic. He's looked great. And, yes, it'd be nice if he won my old title, but that's about it. It didn't really matter. For him to win and to be impressed at his performance is what's important.
"I believe Leo Santa Cruz will bring the very best out of him because he's such a great fighter. But I believe 100 percent that Frampton will beat him. What's important is winning on Saturday night. We put so much time and commitment to this game. You don't want to do all that work and lose. Getting the win is vital."
Other than a few early bouts, Frampton, 29, has been making 122 pounds since he turned pro in 2009. He said it was time to move up and, if he was going to do so, he wanted to fight for a title immediately.
"Up at 126 I feel that this suits me more than fighting Leo Santa Cruz at 122," Frampton said. "I think it would have been a harder fight for me at 122 simply because of making the weight. At 126, I'm much better. And I think that everything's falling into place, and I'm ready to take the title off him.
"I've dealt with fighting bigger guys throughout my whole career. I'm used to it. I've fought bigger guys than Santa Cruz. I think on fight night I'm going to be stronger. People forget that he started his career at bantamweight, while I fought as a featherweight in the amateurs. On the night, I'll be the bigger man, and that will be the difference.
"The last time I was an underdog was the Irish championships (in 2009), when I was an amateur. You could have got me at 11-2 (odds). I was a massive underdog. I dropped (the opponent) pretty early on, so the last time I was an underdog, a lot of people who knew me made a lot of money. It's going to be the same result this time. Moving up to 126 pounds was definitely the right decision for me. I'm a big puncher but I lost power coming down to 122 pounds."
Santa Cruz, who will be making his second title defense, said he did not think he would have any particular advantage with Frampton coming up to his weight class.
"I don't think moving up in weight will affect Carl at all. He's got a big frame, and he's a big guy," said Santa Cruz, who won titles at bantamweight and junior featherweight before he also moved up to featherweight. "He is probably a little bit bigger than me. I know he had problems making 122 pounds, but this should be easier for him.
"People think Frampton is the underdog because he's moving up in weight. But I moved up in weight too."
Whoever wins the fight, most expect it to be action-packed. Frampton likes to come forward and has been in several entertaining bouts. Santa Cruz, 27, a Mexico native fighting out of Rosemead, California, is well known for throwing 100-plus punches per round and relentlessly stalking his foe.
"I'm ready to come here and give a great fight," Santa Cruz said. "I want to make it a war. Carl Frampton is a great fighter and he makes for an interesting fight. Carl is an undefeated fighter just like myself, so we're both going to be hungry. We're going to leave it all in the ring. Neither of us wants to lose, and we're going to give it our all."
Said Frampton, "We're both undefeated, and we're looking for a war. Leo is a great fighter. He's world class, easily the toughest opponent that I've faced so far. But I think I'm Leo's best opponent as well. I think this has all the ingredients to be a top- quality fight. I've had a hard training camp, and I'm ready to leave everything in the ring."