CARL FRAMPTON has been explaining how his preparations have gone for his January 28 rematch with Leo Santa Cruz. โThis camp has been even better than the last one. I had a few problems with my hand during the last training camp but this camp has been brilliant. Iโve been able to put a lot of effort into every session,โ Frampton, the WBA featherweight champion, said. โIโm hungry to prove that this wasnโt a fluke. I see some people talking on the internet that I got lucky last time or that Leo would have won with his father in camp the whole time. But I believe there is a lot more to come for me. Iโve been performing better this camp than ever before. I think I win this fight more convincingly.
โI think Leo is a confidence fighter. I think his pride has made him go straight back to the deep end again. Heโs always been bigger than his opponents. At both bantamweight and super bantamweight he was bigger. Even though Leo is taller than me, Iโm the bigger man. On fight night Iโll be heavier and stronger than him. Heโs been able to bully opponents and wear them out, but he canโt do that to me. I think heโs making a big mistake jumping right back in.
โI genuinely feel like Iโm getting better and I think Leoโs going to be in for a tough night here. If I can do what Iโve been doing here in the gym, perform like Iโve been performing in sparring, Iโm hurting sparring partners, knocking sparring partners out. I feel like Iโm developing, developing into a proper featherweight and I feel like heโs going to be in for a tough night.โ
If Frampton secures a second victory over Santa Cruz, he is eyeing a unification showdown with Lee Selby. โI got drawn in to Leoโs type of fight last time, which made it very exciting. Because of our styles, itโs always going to be a good fight. If itโs two wins to nil for me, Iโd rather move on and fight someone like Lee Selby. I just want to be involved in big fights,โ he said.
But he is relishing this contest as a major event. โObviously, being from where Iโm from, fighting in New York was a major appeal, and a lot of guys on the East Coast are attracted to an Irish fighter they havenโt seen before. So I got a lot of new support from the East Coast. We brought a lot of people across with us, as well. But now, to be fighting, topping the bill at the MGM in the fight capital of the world, itโs something I never really thought about when I was a kid or when I turned professional. I never really believed I could get to this. But itโs here, and Iโm hoping that it can continue for a long time,โ he said. โWeโre staying at Robert Guerreroโs training camp house, which is a big thing for me in itself. We drove past the MGM Grand and saw my face on the side. That was pretty surreal in itself. I just canโt wait to soak it up.”
โThis was a big fight enough in New York, now I think itโs going to be like New York on steroids. I canโt wait to soak up the atmosphere on fight week, canโt wait for all of my fans to get here, I think itโs going to be a real carnival atmosphere and people are going to enjoy it,โ he concluded.
โFighting Leo Santa Cruz in the United States, a three-weight world champion who a lot of people thought was going to beat me and beat me comfortably, that was a big deal. That was the real turning point of my career. And I think thereโs more to come. Iโm 30 in February, but I donโt feel any signs of slowing up.โ