Year of The Jackal? Three-weight world champion and Carl Frampton's most recent opponent Leo Santa Cruz thinks so.
When asked by ES News whom he believed should win 'Fighter Of The Year' - the greatest annual honour in boxing - the Mexican-Californian warrior told ES News that the man who relieved him of his WBA World featherweight title deserved the gong:
Maybe Carl Frampton. He fought against Scott Quigg, he unified, then he beat me. He beat two undefeated fighters so I think he could be Fighter of the Year.
He’s a great fighter, a great talent, so he deserves it.
It's a nice sentiment from a man who's destined to throw down with the second ever Irish two-weight world champion again in the coming months, and it seems 'The Bible Of Boxing' - RING Magazine - are inclined to agree with him.
The most storied pugilistic publication in the world has put The Jackal on the cover of its UK December issue, describing him as a 'major player' in the boxing world.
@RealCFrampton on the cover of @ringmagazine December issue! Unbelievable👏 pic.twitter.com/OEkSI9565p
— Odhran Crumley (@odhranc14) September 20, 2016
To feature on the cover of 94-year-old magazine is considered one of the sport's biggest honours.
Following his successive victories over two undefeated world champions in Scott Quigg and Leo Santa Cruz, Frampton landed in RING's pound-for-pound top 10.
It's an achievement made all the greater when you consider that one of Frampton's first ever mentions in RING came in its next 'Next Generation' column as recently as four years ago, in which they oddly opted to focus on religious parallels - or perpendiculars - between Frampton and his manager, the legendary Barry McGuigan, as opposed to the Tiger Bay man's boxing ability.
Fair play to Nathan Shaw from Belfast for digging this up.
from prospect to front cover#RiseOfTheJackal pic.twitter.com/Kt9BQr0c75
— Nathan Shaw (@BelfastRed3120) September 20, 2016
Landing on the cover of RING's final monthly entry of 2016 will give Frampton's bid for Fighter Of The Year a massive boost. Other such contenders include pound-for-pound number one Roman 'Chocolatito' Gonzalez.
