Sport

Tickets go on sale for Carl Frampton rematch with Leo Santa Cruz

Carl Frampton lands a right hook on Leo Santa Cruz during their WBA Super World Featherweight Championship fight. Tickets for the January rematch are going on sale at 5pm on Tuesday 
Carl Frampton lands a right hook on Leo Santa Cruz during their WBA Super World Featherweight Championship fight. Tickets for the January rematch are going on sale at 5pm on Tuesday  Carl Frampton lands a right hook on Leo Santa Cruz during their WBA Super World Featherweight Championship fight. Tickets for the January rematch are going on sale at 5pm on Tuesday 

TICKETS for Carl Frampton’s January rematch with Leo Santa Cruz in Las Vegas go on sale at 5pm on Tuesday.

Before then, Frampton and Santa Cruz come face to face at the Europa Hotel this afternoon with Barry and Shane McGuigan, Richard Schaefer and Antonio Santa Cruz also in attendance.

‘The Jackal’ predicts he will improve on his points win in July and retain the WBA featherweight strap he took off Santa Cruz in Brooklyn, New York.

“The rematch is the fight we wanted,” said Frampton, Ireland’s second two-weight champion.

“I enjoyed our first fight in New York, the atmosphere was fantastic and the fight lived up to the hype. On January 28, I will be better and I will win more convincingly. I know the way Leo fights, he throws a lot of punches and he is brave, but his style suits me.

“It has always been a dream of mine to headline in Las Vegas and I cannot wait to get out there and put on a great performance for the American boxing fans and the travelling support from Ireland and the UK.”

Meanwhile, ‘El Terremoto’ (the earthquake) Santa Cruz says he has trained with a single-minded determination since he suffered the first loss of his career at the Barclays Centre and is desperate to win the title back.

“From the moment our last fight ended, when the decision came and I lost the fight, I knew my only goal was to get my belt back,” said the LA-based Mexican.

“When I sat in the locker room afterwards, I felt more motivated than ever to get back in the gym. All I've thought about since the fight was this rematch.

“There won't be any distractions in this camp. I'll be heading into the fight with a better game plan. I'm putting in 100 per cent in training and I'm excited to get in the ring on January 28 to get my belt back.”

Frampton’s manager Barry McGuigan says a win in the rematch will confirm ‘the Jackal’ as a “true great” of Irish boxing: “I am looking forward to a terrific event in Las Vegas,” said Boxing Hall of Famer McGuigan.

“The first fight between Carl and Leo Santa Cruz was sensational and I truly believe that the rematch will be even better. I’m convinced that Carl will win the rematch more convincingly and beating someone like Leo Santa Cruz a second time will define Carl as true great of Irish boxing.

“I know everyone at Cyclone Promotions is proud to deliver a great night of boxing at MGM Grand where there will be a full action packed card of championship fights.”

Frampton had the backing of a significant Irish support in Brooklyn and can expect a significant following at the MGM Grand - an arena where Santa Cruz has fought six times.”

Meanwhile, Richard Schaefer, chairman and CEO of Ringstar Sports, added: “It’s a thrill to promote another fantastic night of boxing featuring two evenly matched world championship showdowns.

“These are the kinds of cards that Ringstar is all about. Frampton and Santa Cruz put on a memorable performance in July and battled from the opening bell.

“It was Frampton who took home the belt last time, but I expect that Leo will train to be 100 per cent and do everything in his power to get his title back. I believe this could be an even better fight than the first one.

“We also have Mikey Garcia, who shook off the ring rust in July and will challenge the most dangerous lightweight champion in the world, Dejan Zlaticanin, in the co-main event.

“This is a fight that looks destined to end by knockout. The perfect stage for this great night of action is the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and I anticipate a huge crowd on hand to support these outstanding fighters.”

Katie Taylor looked every inch a class act during her professional debut win over Karina Kopinska at the SSE Arena, Wembley last Saturday night. Former amateur world and Olympic champion Taylor will feature in Manchester on December 10
Katie Taylor looked every inch a class act during her professional debut win over Karina Kopinska at the SSE Arena, Wembley last Saturday night. Former amateur world and Olympic champion Taylor will feature in Manchester on December 10 Katie Taylor looked every inch a class act during her professional debut win over Karina Kopinska at the SSE Arena, Wembley last Saturday night. Former amateur world and Olympic champion Taylor will feature in Manchester on December 10

MICHAEL CONLAN has confirmed Los Angeles-based trainer Manny Robles will be the man in his corner as he looks forward to kicking off his professional career in New York on St Patrick’s Day.

Conlan spent some time at Robles’ Rock Gym in LA and says he gelled immediately with the successful coach who also has Donegal middleweight Jason Quigley in his fighting stable.

“Everything went great,” he said.

“Training went perfect, I gelled with him really quick. It usually takes me a few weeks to gel with a coach but I gelled with him the first day I went into the gym. It was brilliant, I really, really enjoyed it and felt welcome to the gym and I’m looking forward to getting back over and getting going.”

Alongside Quigley, Robles also has WBO super-bantamweight champion Jesse Magdaleno and WBO featherweight king Oscar Valdez in his Rock Gym.

“That’s one the main reasons I went there,” said Conlan.

“I wanted to spar with the best in the world and there’s two world champions there around my weight division.”

He added: “Everything went great.

“I’ve got my apartment and all set up, I’ll be living down by the marina and everything is set up and I’m moving over on January the 10th.”

Meanwhile, US promoter Bob Arum predicts that Conlan will do for professional boxing what Conor McGregor has done for UFC.

Top Rank boss Arum - who signed Conlan in September - predicts the Belfast featherweight will “explode on the boxing scene” after he makes his professional debut at the iconic Madison Square Garden, New York on St Patrick’s Day next year.

“I really believe that he will do for boxing what Conor McGregor has done for UFC,” said Arum who ran the 2,000th promotion of his career in Las Vegas last Saturday night that was headlined by Vasyl Lomachenko’s successful defence of the WGO super-featherweight title against Nicholas Walters.

“He’s a charismatic kid and when American’s get to meet him up close he’s going to explode on the boxing scene,” he said.

MATTHEW WILTON ended a year-long absence from the ring with a win at the Shorts Sports and Social Club last Saturday night.

Wilton improved his record to 14-0 with a points victory over journeyman Kevin McCauley at the Belfast venue that also saw victories for fellow super-lightweights Stephen Carroll and Tony Nellins while Casey Blair had too much for Alireza Alimohammadi at middleweight.

RESULTS


Super-lightweight: Stephen Carroll (5-0) bt James Gorman (8-30-1) pts; Middleweight: Casey Blair (4-18) bt Alireza Alimohammadi (0-3) pts; Super-lightweight: Matthew Wilton (14-0) bt Kevin McCauley (11-130-10) pts; Super Lightweight: Tony Nellins (3-0) bt JP McGuinness (3-3) pts

TERRY FLANAGAN defended his WBO lightweight belt with an eighth-round stoppage to scupper Orlando Cruz's hopes of becoming the first openly gay world champion in boxing.

The Brit, who is now 32-0 in his professional career, made a successful fourth defence of the belt he won last summer by knocking Cruz to the canvas twice in the same round in Cardiff, with referee Steve Gray calling a halt to proceedings after a powerful right hand from Flanagan.

Cruz, a 35-year-old Puerto Rican, had come out as gay in 2012 and this was his 10th bout since his announcement, though his first in this weight class, and he was unable to pose many problems for Manchester fighter Flanagan on the night.

FORMER British middleweight champion Nick Blackwell is in hospital for treatment after he was taken ill after reportedly being involved in a sparring session this week.

Blackwell had retired from competitive boxing earlier this year after recovering from being put into an induced coma following March's fight against Chris Eubank Jnr, where he collapsed shortly after being stopped.

The 26-year-old from Trowbridge was found to have suffered a bleed on the skull following that fight, but woke without requiring an operation and made encouraging progress since.

Although Blackwell had his boxer's licence removed by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) following his ordeal, he retained a trainer's licence.

BBBofC general secretary Robert Smith said: “He no longer has a boxer's licence, but he does have a trainer's licence, which is a completely different thing. He should not have been boxing.

“I'm sickened by it. It's a very tough sport and the doctors here did a wonderful job to save his life. The doctors at hospital saved his life and kept him going.

“He made remarkable recovery and for somebody to go and do what he's done, for what I thought was a very sensible young man, is just beyond belief."

In April, Blackwell revealed he was resigned to retirement, because he “cannot put my friends and family through that again”. Blackwell won the vacant British title by stopping the promising John Ryder in 2015, and twice successfully defended it before defeat by Eubank jnr.

In announcing his decision to quit fighting, Blackwell wrote on Twitter: “No, that's me done. I can't put my friends and family and self through that again but I'll still be involved [in the sport].”