By: Francisco Martinez
August 29, at the Staples Center Abner Mares vs. Leo Santa Cruz is set to take place. A Premiere Boxing Champions card on their newly found platform, ESPN. The “free boxing 4 all” concept is becoming a thirst quencher for the boxing community. With consistency in televised cards with the biggest names Premiere Boxing Champions can offer today. Abner Mares vs. Leo Santa Cruz is just another huge card and a fight the fans we’ll surely enjoy. A fight most critics are comparing to Israel Vazquez vs. Rafael Marquez a trilogy plus one. Boxinginsider.com payed a visit to the, Who’s Next Boxing Academy. Leo’s training grounds for his upcoming war against Abner Mares, a fight the fans have been asking for about 2 years now and thanks to “PBC on ESPN” they will get what they ask for. This is what Leo Santa Cruz had to say.
Boxinginsider.com: “Leo what where your initials thoughts when they first announced this fight after all the talk from Mares? What comes to mind when they first said Leo, it’s done. We’re fighting Mares?”
Leo Santa Cruz: “Happy because the fight got made. The fans wanted it. The fans wanted me to fight somebody with a good name. They where saying I’m cherry picking so I wanted to show them I’m here to fight the best, whoever. Hopefully we get past this fight and we move on to (another) big fight”
Boxinginsider.com: “You just got the news that you’re fighting for the WBC Diamond belt. How does that feel?”
Leo Santa Cruz: “It’s a great opportunity. I’m honored. Work harder and makes me want to even win the fight more”
(With a win Leo Santa Cruz or Abner Mares can be apart of this exclusive list of not just fighting for the WBC Diamond belt but to actually own it. Joining the ranks of current greats like Floyd Mayweather Jr, Manny Pacquiao, Sergio Martinez, Sergey Kovalev and Noñito Donaire. As you can see an exclusive group of future hall of famers that makes the WBC Diamond belt an extraordinary one)
Boxinginsider.com: “You guys went through some difficult times with your brother’s health and your young career right?”
Leo Santa Cruz: “Yeah of course like every fighter you know. When you start from the bottom you have to struggle. (With) My brother(s) (health) struggled with my family (financially). When we went to the gym sometimes we didn’t have (money) for the gas. Things like that. My dad worked in construction and when he got back he came out tired but he’d go to the gym with us like that. We have always suffered but thanks to God, my family and my manager we’re here right now”
(Leo’s brother, Roberto Santa Cruz was diagnosed with Lupus. A disease that Antonio Santa Cruz (brother) described as “We couldn’t even help him move or sit down because just touching him would bring him into so much pain”. However Roberto with the help of doctors now has the Lupus disease under control and now can enjoy not only his brother’s hard earn success but some kind of normality to his everyday living and life)
Boxinginsider.com: “What did you think of the Carl Frampton fight?”
Leo Santa Cruz: “It was a good fight. (Alejandro) Gonzalez surprised him with some good punches and knocked him down. Since he’s from Ireland they’re saying the climate change affected him. Hopefully he looks good in his next fight and everything goes accordingly to plan and I win against Mares and I would like to fight against Frampton. He wants to fight me and I want to fight him to”
(With a win over Mares, Leo Santa Cruz vs Carl Frampton comes closer to be made and both under the Premiere Boxing Champions stable makes the fight for a easy one to negotiate and happen at some point next year)
