Barry McGuigan planning more US fight dates for Frampton
Belfast was never an option for the Leo Santa Cruz rematch claims Irish boxing legend Barry McGuigan – and the Clones Cyclone foresees many more U.S. dates for WBA featherweight champion Carl Frampton.
In the aftermath of losing his first fight, and his title, at the gloves of ‘The Jackal,’ Santa Cruz bemoaned the Frampton fan affect and made a bigger East Coast versus West Coast argument than Biggie and Tupac fans did in the 1990s.
As a result, venue seemed a bigger issue than expected in rematch negations, but McGuigan claims Frampton was always going to go on the road for the return.
Belfast was never a viable option argues the Cyclone chief, and he stresses they have no issue with going to Las Vegas – which is even closer to Santa Cruz’s California base than the supposed Frampton stronghold of New York. What’s more, McGuigan is confident that Frampton will become a fixture on the US scene, especially since winning the hearts of Stateside boxing fans last July.
“We’re more than happy to be going to Vegas. We didn’t want the return in Belfast. There isn’t a big enough indoor arena and we would need to fight outside and even if this was in the Summer, you can’t guarantee the weather. We want to go back there after he’s won the rematch on January 28th and I am very confident that will happen,” McGuigan told Sky Sports.
Frampton produced a sensational performance to register a career-best win against Santa Cruz in July, but McGuigan is predicting a better display in the repeat at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
The Hall of Famer feels Frampton made errors in the first installment that won’t be repeated and thus is adamant that the 29 year olf will win in more comprehensive fashion this time around.
“I am expecting a better Carl Frampton in this one,” McGuigan added. “He made a lot of mistakes in that first fight but of course, he still won. This time I am looking for less mistakes and a comprehensive victory. Carl could fight Santa Cruz every day of the week and twice on Sunday and every fight will be fantastic.”
