"He's no hype job. This is a real fight."
Belfast's Carl Frampton aims to make history as Ireland's first two-weight world champion since Steve Collins on Saturday night, as he challenges dangerous Mexican Leo Santa Cruz for the WBA World featherweight title in Brooklyn.
Both fighters' undefeated records will be on the line at Barclays Centre, with underdog Frampton (22-0, 14KOs) discarding his IBF World super-bantamweight title and adding four pounds of mass for a shot at Santa Cruz (32-0-1, 18KOs).
'The Jackal' has been almost totally written off by the American media- many of whom, perhaps, are only familiar with his cautious but ultimately effective display last time out versus Scott Quigg, and his American debut versus Alejandro Gonzales last year (a fight in which the 29-year-old was decked twice in the opening minutes - his first and second ever trips the canvas).
Judging by this LSC-heavy promo from Showtime, the Tiger's Bay former world champ doesn't care one jot. This one really whets the appetite for what - in boxing circles at least - is a feverishly anticipated contest between two of the world's finest fighters.
With a 7" reach advantage & 2" height advantage, @leosantacruz2 aims to dominate @RealCFrampton SATURDAY 9p ET/6p PThttps://t.co/g6SWDuehqd
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) July 26, 2016
To be fair to the US broadcaster, they only have a certain amount of Frampton's fight footage to work with when throwing together such promo clips. Let's hope Ireland's only professional world champion significantly boosts his highlight reel in New York this Saturday.
We'll be providing our preview and prediction for the fight later in the week.
