Frampton ready for ‘bigger and better’ – targets Santa Cruz clash
Carl Frampton wants to move on to ‘bigger and better things’ after beating Scott Quigg in comprehensive fashion in Manchester on Saturday night.
‘The Jackal’ seems to put three-weight World champion Leo Santa Cruz back on the top of his hit-list and would like the well-known Mexican American next.
The first Irishman ever to unify World titles has a number of options, and two mandatory challengers, but seems to be gravitating toward Santa Cruz, who retained his WBA featherweight title with a fifth round stoppage of Kiko Martinez on the same night as the Belfast 29 year old was defeating Quigg.
Team Quigg did state a rematch desire, but Frampton doesn’t think their will be public demand for a return and is confident PBC boss Al Haymon wants to pit him in with Cruz.
Frampton told Sky Sports News HQ: “I think I won the fight pretty convincingly, pretty clearly – I think I won it by about four or five rounds. For a judge to give it against me I couldn’t fathom it, I don’t know what he was watching really.
“They say it was a split decision, it doesn’t really reflect the fight. I thought I won it convincingly.
“If the public demand [a rematch] – I don’t think they will, but if they do – then we will do it again. But if not we move on to bigger and better things.
“I see Leo Santa Cruz won last night. That’s obviously an easy fight to make because heh Al Haymon and so am I. That’s a big fight, a potential blockbuster.
“I think it will be an exciting fight, a real exciting fight. It’s all about styles matching together. I think me and Santa Cruz would gel very, very well and it would be a barnstormer,” he said before again addressing the rematch.
“There’s nothing in the contract, no,” he added. “We kind of had an agreement that if the fight is good enough we will do it again in Belfast.
“But we will see, if the people want to see it again we can do it again, and I am open to all options really.”
“I wouldn’t go to featherweight unless there was a big fight there and a big name – the likes of Santa Cruz. I wouldn’t go up for a 10-rounder against a guy no one has heard of.”
Barry McGuigan is also Santa Cruz keen and believes it would be a fan-friendly affair.
“The money fight is Santa Cruz. The difference between him and Scott is that Scott was unsure and just didn’t want to throw as he was so apprehensive because he was being hit hard that he just didn’t want to let go.
“Santa Cruz does let go and it would be a fabulous fight.”
