Leo Santa Cruz aims to beat Carl Frampton to set up Lee Selby bout
Monday 18 July 2016 11:49, UK
Leo Santa Cruz is keen to get past Carl Frampton and then travel to the UK to fight Lee Selby in a featherweight unification bout.
WBA 'Super' world featherweight champion Santa Cruz (32-0-1-KO18) takes on former IBF world super-bantamweight title holder Frampton (22-0-KO14) in New York on July 30 and is confident he will conquer the Northern Irishman before beginning his campaign to unify the division.
The Mexican told behindthegloves.com: "Of course. Even against Carl Frampton, I would have gone over there because once we're in the ring, it's only us two and the UK people won't be able to help him or make a difference.
"Hopefully, I get the win against Frampton and then I would like unification bouts with Lee Selby, Gary Russell Jr. I don't care who it is - I just want to unify, but hopefully it will be Lee Selby.
"Frampton is an undefeated fighter and has everything to be a champion - great skills, great footwork and great power. It's the toughest fight of my career but that's what I want. I want to keep improving all the time.
"The fans love Mexicans who go forward. I always try to do that. If it's working for me and I see he can't hurt me, I'll stay in there but if not, I'm going to box him and keep on the outside. My dad told me I could beat him with the one-two.
Frampton is an undefeated fighter and has everything to be a champion - great skills, great footwork and great power.
"We can do whatever we want. Anything could happen in the ring. He has power and he could catch me but we are 100 per cent ready to not let that happen. I don't promise nothing apart from I'll go out there and give my all.
"I'm going to try to knock him out. Hopefully I can land a big right hand and stop him. By the sixth and seventh round, he gets tired and with my pressure, I could stop him in the later rounds."
Santa Cruz, 27, stepped up from super-bantamweight a year ago and won his belt via majority decision over Abner Mares. He has since made one defence, stopping Kiko Martinez in the fifth in February.
