If someone wanted to know who my favourite US based boxer is right now I'd have to go with Leo Santa Cruz (25-0-1, 15), a destructive and hard working fighting machine who goes in to the ring with the intention of breaking down every opponent he faces. Santa Cruz is one of those truly exciting fighters who you just feel the need to watch. He can look unskilled at times but he's defensively smart and a well oiled offensive machine who cuts the distance and breaks down fighters with work to the head and body. There really is little to dislike about him.
This weekend sees Santa Cruz defending his WBC Super Bantamweight title for the first time as he takes on former Super Flyweight title challenger Cesar Seda (25-1, 17) from Puerto Rico. This bout, another in the long standing Mexico-Puerto Rico rivalry has been tipped by some as potentially the most exciting fight of the weekend.
Although some are tipping this to be exciting I can't help but think this is a complete mismatch. Whilst Seda is a decent fighter his limitations were shown up when he faced Omar Andres Narvaez who out maneuvered and out worked Seda. Sure that was a few years ago but since then he hasn't beaten any one of any real note with victories over Miguel Tamayo and Lorenzo Trejo not really being the sort of things that would prepare anyone for facing Santa Cruz.
Seda's good, but Leo is amazing.
I expect Seda to know how good Leo is. Seda will have to try and create distance but Santa Cruz is so startlingly impressive at cutting off the ring that Seda will be walked down, broken down with vicious uppercuts up close and will eventually fold.
Expect this to be action packed but far too short to be a classic.
Prediction-Leo Santa Cruz TKO4
Showing posts with label Leo Santa Cruz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leo Santa Cruz. Show all posts
Wednesday, 11 December 2013
Thursday, 15 August 2013
Victor Terrazas v Leo Santa Cruz
When one talks about the most fun to watch fighters in world boxing it's hard not to including the name of Leo Santa Cruz (24-0-1, 14) a really fun to watch, all action fighter who is like a smaller and improved version of Antonio Margarito.
Santa Cruz, who made his name at Bantamweight, looks to step up to Super Bantamweight this week and claim the WBC title at 122lbs as he takes on fellow Mexican Victor Terrazas (37-2-1, 21) in an attempt to become a 2-weight world champion.
The lead story is of course that of Santa Cruz stepping up though for me the real story is that of the fight it's self, a story that is going to be a lot of fun as both men come to fight and both men tend to enjoy letting their hands go.
Terrazas won the title last time out taking a debated decision over the skilled Cristian Mijares, in a bout many felt Mijares had won. Although Terrazas was competitive through out it was a worry that he was dropped by Mijares and despite making a solid start Terrazas was looking like a tired fighter towards the end.
It's the stamina of Terrazas that really leaves me with questions. In his most recent loss, the only one that matters considering his first came on his debut, he started well against Rendall Munroe but tired out in the middle rounds and was stopped as must from exhaustion as anything else. It's fair to say that this is a big issue when when you fight someone who is busy, in your face and will grind you down mentally and physically.
Unfortunately for Terrazas, Santa Cruz is the type of fighter who get in your face from the opening bell, push you around with his strength and then beat you down with his relentless work rate that sees him going to the head and body in clusters. Although no single shot of Santa Cruz's is concussive the sheer number of them is draining and by the middle rounds most of his opponents have either been spent or are starting to think more about protecting themselves than trying to fight back.
Whilst it's true that Santa Cruz is going up a division he did appear to be massive at Bantamweight and aged just 25 he is certainly more of a natural Super Bantamweight now than a Bantamweight. In fact the move up a division may well see him not only maintaining his insane work rate but also have more force on every shot with the extra few pounds counting for a lot in these lower weights.
My view on this fight is that for 6 or 7 rounds we'll have some special. Both guys unloading shots on the other like rock-em-sock-em robots but in the second half of the fight the battle will slowly be beaten out of Terrazas who will be stopped in the later rounds, probably by his corner after a really bad round.
Prediction-Santa Cruz TKO10
Santa Cruz, who made his name at Bantamweight, looks to step up to Super Bantamweight this week and claim the WBC title at 122lbs as he takes on fellow Mexican Victor Terrazas (37-2-1, 21) in an attempt to become a 2-weight world champion.
The lead story is of course that of Santa Cruz stepping up though for me the real story is that of the fight it's self, a story that is going to be a lot of fun as both men come to fight and both men tend to enjoy letting their hands go.
Terrazas won the title last time out taking a debated decision over the skilled Cristian Mijares, in a bout many felt Mijares had won. Although Terrazas was competitive through out it was a worry that he was dropped by Mijares and despite making a solid start Terrazas was looking like a tired fighter towards the end.
It's the stamina of Terrazas that really leaves me with questions. In his most recent loss, the only one that matters considering his first came on his debut, he started well against Rendall Munroe but tired out in the middle rounds and was stopped as must from exhaustion as anything else. It's fair to say that this is a big issue when when you fight someone who is busy, in your face and will grind you down mentally and physically.
Unfortunately for Terrazas, Santa Cruz is the type of fighter who get in your face from the opening bell, push you around with his strength and then beat you down with his relentless work rate that sees him going to the head and body in clusters. Although no single shot of Santa Cruz's is concussive the sheer number of them is draining and by the middle rounds most of his opponents have either been spent or are starting to think more about protecting themselves than trying to fight back.
Whilst it's true that Santa Cruz is going up a division he did appear to be massive at Bantamweight and aged just 25 he is certainly more of a natural Super Bantamweight now than a Bantamweight. In fact the move up a division may well see him not only maintaining his insane work rate but also have more force on every shot with the extra few pounds counting for a lot in these lower weights.
My view on this fight is that for 6 or 7 rounds we'll have some special. Both guys unloading shots on the other like rock-em-sock-em robots but in the second half of the fight the battle will slowly be beaten out of Terrazas who will be stopped in the later rounds, probably by his corner after a really bad round.
Prediction-Santa Cruz TKO10
Thursday, 13 December 2012
Leo Santa Cruz v Alberto Guevara
Exciting Mexican youngster Leo Santa Cruz (22-0-1, 13) looks to finish off an excellent year with his third, and likely final IBF Bantamweight title defense as he faces the unbeaten but untested Alberto Guevara (16-0, 6) live on CBS.
Santa Cruz is quickly becoming one of the new stars of Mexican boxing and appears to be one of the sports most fun to watch fighters regardless of nationality. In terms of his style he's a very tough but educated pressure fighter who brings not only an "in your face" attitude to the ring but also very under-rated boxing ability and a deceptively powerful punch which he uses to grind down opponents.
Although Santa Cruz's record doesn't show him to be a puncher he has developed a real mean streak with which he's been able to force numerous stoppages with in recent fights. In fact Santa Cruz has impressively stopped 11 of his last 12 bouts early with only teak tough South African Vusi Malinga seeing the final bell with others such as Eric Morel, Alejandro Hernandez and Stephane Jamoye all being stopped in that run of 12 fights.
I'm expecting this to be the final time we see Santa Cruz at Bantamweight, a division he seems to be out growing and if he puts on an impressive showing it'll be great to see him mixing with some of the top guys at Super Bantamweight.
Whilst Santa Cruz is well known by boxing fans who have seen him becoming a bit of a star this year, it's fair to admit that Alberto Guevara is much more obscure. In fact it's worrying to discover that Guevara (at the time of writing) is unranked by the IBF and is ranked #47 by boxrec. Almost as interesting is that last time out Guervara apparently weighed in at a ridiculous 136lbs, and now needs to cut back down to 118.
Despite being unbeaten since he turned professional a little over 3 years ago Guevara is really, really untested having fought only 6 opponents with "winning records". Despite the level of his opponents it's fair to admit that Guevara has been stepping up in recent fights with arguably his best 3 wins coming in his last 3 bouts however they are all several levels below that of Santa Cruz.
In all honesty I can't see many fighters at 118lbs living with Santa Cruz's aggression, power and work rate. I think he'd be a nightmare for both Anselmo Moreno and Shinsuke Yamanaka (both fighters who I love) and in fact Santa Cruz could well be the division's #1 fighter as a result I can't Guevara upsetting him. I think Guevara will get ground down and quite early as well.
Prediction-Santa Cruz TKO5
Santa Cruz is quickly becoming one of the new stars of Mexican boxing and appears to be one of the sports most fun to watch fighters regardless of nationality. In terms of his style he's a very tough but educated pressure fighter who brings not only an "in your face" attitude to the ring but also very under-rated boxing ability and a deceptively powerful punch which he uses to grind down opponents.
Although Santa Cruz's record doesn't show him to be a puncher he has developed a real mean streak with which he's been able to force numerous stoppages with in recent fights. In fact Santa Cruz has impressively stopped 11 of his last 12 bouts early with only teak tough South African Vusi Malinga seeing the final bell with others such as Eric Morel, Alejandro Hernandez and Stephane Jamoye all being stopped in that run of 12 fights.
I'm expecting this to be the final time we see Santa Cruz at Bantamweight, a division he seems to be out growing and if he puts on an impressive showing it'll be great to see him mixing with some of the top guys at Super Bantamweight.
Whilst Santa Cruz is well known by boxing fans who have seen him becoming a bit of a star this year, it's fair to admit that Alberto Guevara is much more obscure. In fact it's worrying to discover that Guevara (at the time of writing) is unranked by the IBF and is ranked #47 by boxrec. Almost as interesting is that last time out Guervara apparently weighed in at a ridiculous 136lbs, and now needs to cut back down to 118.
Despite being unbeaten since he turned professional a little over 3 years ago Guevara is really, really untested having fought only 6 opponents with "winning records". Despite the level of his opponents it's fair to admit that Guevara has been stepping up in recent fights with arguably his best 3 wins coming in his last 3 bouts however they are all several levels below that of Santa Cruz.
In all honesty I can't see many fighters at 118lbs living with Santa Cruz's aggression, power and work rate. I think he'd be a nightmare for both Anselmo Moreno and Shinsuke Yamanaka (both fighters who I love) and in fact Santa Cruz could well be the division's #1 fighter as a result I can't Guevara upsetting him. I think Guevara will get ground down and quite early as well.
Prediction-Santa Cruz TKO5
Friday, 9 November 2012
Leo Santa Cruz v Victor Zaleta
Mexican Bantamweight Leo Santa Cruz (21-0-1, 12) looks to not only prove that he's one of the fastest rising boxers in the world right now, but that he's also one of the top Bantamweights as he attempts to defend his IBF title against huge under-dog Victor Zaleta (20-2-1, 10).
Santa Cruz, seen by many as a future multi-weight champion, claimed the the IBF title just 5 months ago when he defeated Vusi Malinga and since then has defended his title once, becoming the first man to stop veteran Eric Morel. It was though by many that the Morel fight would be Santa Cruz's last bout as a Bantamweight however the ease with which he won has seen him remaining at 118lbs for one more fight as he waits to weigh up options at Super Bantamweight sometime next year.
As a fighter Santa Cruz is looking like a super star in the making, though it's not his skill per-se that is making him look like that, but his all action, relentless style. He's a monster at Bantamweight with hurtful shots, especially to the body and he throws in huge numbers slowly grinding opponents down with pressure and the cumulative effect of his shots. Despite his record not making him look much of a puncher he has amazingly stopped 10 of his last 11 opponents!
As well as his work rate and pressure, Santa Cruz is also a very tough fighter who takes a solid punch and smiles at his opponents afterwards as if to ask if that's all they have. In many regards he is similar to former Welterweight champion Antonio Magarito, who many have compared him to. Despite the similarities however, it's fair to say that Santa Cruz actually has the better skills and seems to be a bit more than just a relentless tornado of punches.
Whilst the bout is here for Santa Cruz to further enhance his reputation, it's fair to say that Zaleta will be looking for an upset and it's also fair to say that if Zaleta wins it would genuinely be one of the upsets of the year.
Despite being a decent fighter Zaleta has made his name at Super Flyweight and has even fought as low as Flyweight. In fact it's been at those lower weights that Zaleta has often acted as a bit of a banana skin with victories over fighters such as Eric Ortiz, Gilberto Keb Baas and Jose Antonio Aguirre (all of whom were world champions). Sadly however Zaleta hasn't been able to claim a world title, being widely beaten in his only previous world title bout again Omar Andres Narvaez.
Since the Narvaez bout, Zaleta has struggled winning 3 and drawing 1, though he could easily have lost 3 and won 1 of those and in effect be 1-4 in his last 5 bouts, having been dropped in 2 of them. Whilst he's never been stopped, he's never faced a fighter like Santa Cruz and I really, really can't see him coping with the relentless aggression of the champion here.
Prediction: Santa Cruz by TKO7
Santa Cruz, seen by many as a future multi-weight champion, claimed the the IBF title just 5 months ago when he defeated Vusi Malinga and since then has defended his title once, becoming the first man to stop veteran Eric Morel. It was though by many that the Morel fight would be Santa Cruz's last bout as a Bantamweight however the ease with which he won has seen him remaining at 118lbs for one more fight as he waits to weigh up options at Super Bantamweight sometime next year.
As a fighter Santa Cruz is looking like a super star in the making, though it's not his skill per-se that is making him look like that, but his all action, relentless style. He's a monster at Bantamweight with hurtful shots, especially to the body and he throws in huge numbers slowly grinding opponents down with pressure and the cumulative effect of his shots. Despite his record not making him look much of a puncher he has amazingly stopped 10 of his last 11 opponents!
As well as his work rate and pressure, Santa Cruz is also a very tough fighter who takes a solid punch and smiles at his opponents afterwards as if to ask if that's all they have. In many regards he is similar to former Welterweight champion Antonio Magarito, who many have compared him to. Despite the similarities however, it's fair to say that Santa Cruz actually has the better skills and seems to be a bit more than just a relentless tornado of punches.
Whilst the bout is here for Santa Cruz to further enhance his reputation, it's fair to say that Zaleta will be looking for an upset and it's also fair to say that if Zaleta wins it would genuinely be one of the upsets of the year.
Despite being a decent fighter Zaleta has made his name at Super Flyweight and has even fought as low as Flyweight. In fact it's been at those lower weights that Zaleta has often acted as a bit of a banana skin with victories over fighters such as Eric Ortiz, Gilberto Keb Baas and Jose Antonio Aguirre (all of whom were world champions). Sadly however Zaleta hasn't been able to claim a world title, being widely beaten in his only previous world title bout again Omar Andres Narvaez.
Since the Narvaez bout, Zaleta has struggled winning 3 and drawing 1, though he could easily have lost 3 and won 1 of those and in effect be 1-4 in his last 5 bouts, having been dropped in 2 of them. Whilst he's never been stopped, he's never faced a fighter like Santa Cruz and I really, really can't see him coping with the relentless aggression of the champion here.
Prediction: Santa Cruz by TKO7
Tuesday, 11 September 2012
Leo Santa Cruz v Eric Morel
This coming weekend young Mexican Leo Santa Cruz (20-0-1, 11) will make the first defense of IBF Bantamweight title as he faces Puerto Rican veteran Eric Morel (46-3, 23) in a bout that it is expected by many to help propel Santa Cruz to the next level.
The 24 year old Santa Cruz is tipped by many as one of the top young Mexican's in the sport and with huge potential to become a star, despite the fact he fights in the lower divisions. So far his rise has been genuinely swift and incredibly impressive.
Santa Cruz debuted in late 2006 aged just 18 and first started to make a name for himself in 2011 as he stopped tough Belgian Stephane Jamoye (KO6) with a devastating body shot. Since then Santa Cruz's rise to the top has been remarkable and thoroughly impressive with victories over former "interim" world champion Jose Lopez (not to be confused Josesito Lopez) and former title contenders Everth Briceno, Alejandro Hernandez and Vusi Malinga.
Despite being young and relatively inexperienced (certainly when compared to his challenger) Santa Cruz is a fighter who has been compared to Antonio Magarito with his superb work rate and relentless pressure as well as in your face mentality. Like Margarito, Santa Cruz isn't an out and out destructive puncher (though his body shots are devastating) but will grind opponents down and break them, both physically and mentally. Whilst he's certainly not a slickster his defense is under-rated and he appears to be very durable.
At 36 years old Eric Morel, the challenger, is a true veteran having fought professional since 1996 and as well as being experienced he's a born survivor in the ring having never been stopped and really even being hurt.
Morel first made his name in the sport in 2000 when he claimed the WBA Flyweight title by defeating Sornpichai Kratingdaenggym. He would keep this title for 3 years making 5 defenses against the likes of Alberto Ontiveros, Gilberto Keb Baas and Denkaosan Kaovichit before losing to Venezuelan Lorenzo Parra. A little over a year after suffering his first professional loss, Morel attempted to claim the WBA Super Flyweight title from Martin Castillo though was widely beaten by Castillo. Following this loss Morel's would spend much of the following 3 years out of the ring following a sexual assault of a 15 year girl.
Having returned to the ring in 2008 Morel would run off a number of wins over lower level opponents before controversially defeating Filipino legend Gerry Penalosa in a bout that most watching felt Penalosa clearly deserved. The win over Penalosa saw Morel claiming the interim WBO Bantamweight title, a title that Morel would never defend instead choosing to fight above the 118lb Bantamweight limit.
In his most recent bout to date Morel lost to the highly regarded Mexican Abner Mares. Despite dominating the bout Mares failed to score a stoppage against Morel who seemed determined to do little more than survive. Despite having an impressive looking record (46-3, 23) and never being stopped Morel has never been an exceptional fighter. He used to have good speed and respectable power however at Bantamweight he really doesn't hit hard and at 37 he's not as fleet on his feet as he once was.
Whilst Morel has never been stopped he did seem on the verge of being stopped by Mares and against Santa Cruz I imagine we could similar scene. Morel is an old man (especially at the lower weights) and with Santa Cruz's relentless offense and refusal to back away added to his lethal body shots, I actually see Santa Cruz becoming the first man to stop Morel. Whilst I do genuinely like Santa Cruz I don't want fans to get too excited by a performance over the old Morel, even if the Mexican does manage to force a late stoppage.
Prediction-Santa Cruz TKO10
The 24 year old Santa Cruz is tipped by many as one of the top young Mexican's in the sport and with huge potential to become a star, despite the fact he fights in the lower divisions. So far his rise has been genuinely swift and incredibly impressive.
Santa Cruz debuted in late 2006 aged just 18 and first started to make a name for himself in 2011 as he stopped tough Belgian Stephane Jamoye (KO6) with a devastating body shot. Since then Santa Cruz's rise to the top has been remarkable and thoroughly impressive with victories over former "interim" world champion Jose Lopez (not to be confused Josesito Lopez) and former title contenders Everth Briceno, Alejandro Hernandez and Vusi Malinga.
Despite being young and relatively inexperienced (certainly when compared to his challenger) Santa Cruz is a fighter who has been compared to Antonio Magarito with his superb work rate and relentless pressure as well as in your face mentality. Like Margarito, Santa Cruz isn't an out and out destructive puncher (though his body shots are devastating) but will grind opponents down and break them, both physically and mentally. Whilst he's certainly not a slickster his defense is under-rated and he appears to be very durable.
At 36 years old Eric Morel, the challenger, is a true veteran having fought professional since 1996 and as well as being experienced he's a born survivor in the ring having never been stopped and really even being hurt.
Morel first made his name in the sport in 2000 when he claimed the WBA Flyweight title by defeating Sornpichai Kratingdaenggym. He would keep this title for 3 years making 5 defenses against the likes of Alberto Ontiveros, Gilberto Keb Baas and Denkaosan Kaovichit before losing to Venezuelan Lorenzo Parra. A little over a year after suffering his first professional loss, Morel attempted to claim the WBA Super Flyweight title from Martin Castillo though was widely beaten by Castillo. Following this loss Morel's would spend much of the following 3 years out of the ring following a sexual assault of a 15 year girl.
Having returned to the ring in 2008 Morel would run off a number of wins over lower level opponents before controversially defeating Filipino legend Gerry Penalosa in a bout that most watching felt Penalosa clearly deserved. The win over Penalosa saw Morel claiming the interim WBO Bantamweight title, a title that Morel would never defend instead choosing to fight above the 118lb Bantamweight limit.
In his most recent bout to date Morel lost to the highly regarded Mexican Abner Mares. Despite dominating the bout Mares failed to score a stoppage against Morel who seemed determined to do little more than survive. Despite having an impressive looking record (46-3, 23) and never being stopped Morel has never been an exceptional fighter. He used to have good speed and respectable power however at Bantamweight he really doesn't hit hard and at 37 he's not as fleet on his feet as he once was.
Whilst Morel has never been stopped he did seem on the verge of being stopped by Mares and against Santa Cruz I imagine we could similar scene. Morel is an old man (especially at the lower weights) and with Santa Cruz's relentless offense and refusal to back away added to his lethal body shots, I actually see Santa Cruz becoming the first man to stop Morel. Whilst I do genuinely like Santa Cruz I don't want fans to get too excited by a performance over the old Morel, even if the Mexican does manage to force a late stoppage.
Prediction-Santa Cruz TKO10
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