If Carl Frampton removes the threat of world title eliminator rival Hugo Cazares then a shot at WBC holder Leo Santa Cruz could be on the table for the summer. Even though talk of a stadium fight in Belfast may seem the stuff of dreams, Shane McGuigan believe that it is not so far fetched. Shane can envisage Golden Boy Promotions, Showtime TV and their prize asset Santa Cruz travelling across the water to accommodate Frampton in a blockbuster event.
“Yes we are a hard fight to take but we sell tickets and make sure everyone gets looked after and well paid,” said Shane, laying out the reasons why world-class operators could view Belfast as an attractive fight destination.
“Everybody in the super-bantamweight division knows who Carl Frampton is because he’s such a threat. Nobody knocks out Kiko Martinez, especially in the manner he did, so they are all running scared. It’s a similar situation with Rigondeaux, if you’re good then people don’t want to fight you and if they do fight then they want to get well paid. Rigondeaux struggles because he doesn’t sell any tickets but we do and that’s the thing that we’ve got.”
With so much conjecture and possible scenarios it is hard to fathom exactly who will fight who and where it will take place. Santa Cruz has made positive noises about coming over to Ireland to face Carl and is equally as interested in his rival title holders. The California resident dismissed the challenge of veteran southpaw Cristian Mijares on Saturday night and made positive noises about a Frampton fight afterwards. So does Shane McGuigan think it would be possible to make Frampton-Santa Cruz in a Belfast summer showdown on Showtime TV?
“Oh one hundred per cent yeah, Golden Boy are excited to be working with us which offers really good potential for Cyclone Promotions,” enthused McGuigan.
“They bring the TV rights and a lot of power in the boxing field so for us it’s just about getting this win out of the way and getting Santa Cruz over here. Styles make fights and that would be a fantastic fight, the two of them will blend so well. Santa Cruz swarms over people and it shows that if you move your feet with this guy he can be nullified as he’s not going to be coming out dancing around like Sugar Ray Leonard. In his fight against [Cesar] Seda he looked pretty sloppy but in all his other fights he looked fantastic.”