Santa Cruz Belfast talks ongoing as McGuigan aims for pay-per-view persuasion
José Santa Cruz may not want his son, Léo, to face Carl Frampton [23(14)-1(0)] in a rubber match in Belfast this Summer, but Barry McGuigan has not lost hope.
McGuigan however has revealed that negotiations are still ongoing with Al Haymon, the man behind Premier Boxing Champions and advisor to both Frampton and Santa Cruz.
The Cyclone Promotions chief told the Belfast Telegraph that “I’ve seen what Santa Cruz has had to say about not wanting to fight in Belfast, nothing surprises me in boxing. Those thoughts are clearly influenced by his father but nothing is deterring us from continuing to negotiate a deal for Santa Cruz to face Carl in the summer in Belfast.”
Reiterating that talks are going well, McGuigan continued – “any negotiations that we have had so far with Santa Cruz’s adviser Al Haymon have been positive and we don’t see any reason why that shouldn’t still be the case, despite what Santa Cruz has said.”
A frequently cited stumbling block to the fight taking place on this side of the Atlantic is time difference, with an evening time fight at Windsor Park or a similar venue being unattractive for cable networks in the U.S. which is between five and eight hours behind Irish time.
It had been suggested that the bout could take place as a big afternoon bout on American terrestrial television, a-la Errol Spence v Leonard Bundu, however McGuigan has plans for an alternative and believes that the promise of pay-per-view money could entice ‘El Terremoto’ across the pond.
The Monaghan manager outlined how “we are working very hard to make coming to Belfast at an outdoor venue on pay-per-view the most lucrative deal for Santa Cruz in a third fight with Carl.”
