Leo Santa Cruz Wants Rematch With Carl Frampton

Carl Frampton (23-0, 14 KO) and Leo Santa Cruz (32-1-1, 18 KO) produced one of the better boxing fights of 2016 so far, but that doesn’t mean that all sides were happy.

Santa Cruz’s father and trainer, Jose Santa Cruz, said that Leo wants a rematch with Frampton. Frampton won via majority decision on the July 30 fight. Two judges ruled the fight 117-111 and 116-112 in Frampton’s favor, with the third scoring the contest as a 114-114 draw.

“My son spoke to Mr. Al Haymon at the end of the fight and he said that there is a rematch clause,” Jose Santa Cruz told ESPN Deportes. “If that’s the case then of course we want a direct rematch, but now it could be in Los Angeles or in Las Vegas in around three months’ time, in November.”

The father and son duo do not believe that Leo lost the fight. While Jose acknowledged that his son could have done a lot better, there was still no doubt in his mind that the judges’ decision was wrong.

“I’m telling you, I did not see my son lose,” Jose Santa Cruz said. “If I had seen him lose I would say so, that’s why we want the rematch. Many people have said they saw Leo win. I think the judges there just have rewarded the more offensive fighter. If Frampton connected with two then my son hit him with three. Many of Frampton’s punches didn’t connect, although I accept that the ones that did were hard.”

Jose said that Leo’s movement and punches were a bit slow and that he needed to be a bit more solid. Should a rematch come to fruition, a training regimen is already in place and Jose believes that Leo can win a rematch.

“I think that if we get the rematch – and we are going to ask for it – I will tell my son he needs to train harder,” Jose Santa Cruz said. ‘I don’t like to make excuses, maybe they did beat us, but I am sure that Leo will win the title back.”

Frampton, meanwhile, said a fight with the reigning IBF Featherweight champion Lee Selby (23-1, 8 KO) “interests” him and wants to be involved in big fights. He did not rule out a rematch with Leo Santa Cruz.

“Lee Selby is a great fighter, someone I respect and one of the best UK fighters,” Frampton said after the fight. “That’s a fight that interests me, there’s Gary Russell, all these guys. I just want to be involved in big fights, memorable fights. I don’t think there’s a rematch clause [against Santa Cruz] in place, but it would be a great fight, one I’d be happy to do.”