Santa Cruz vs Martinez Official for February 27th
Yep, Santa Cruz vs Martinez isn’t a fight which will go down particularly well with the majority of hardened boxing fans, but it’s…well, not terrible exactly. Yes, Kiko Martinez (35-6, 26 KO) will be oversized and out of his depth, but at least the man always comes to fight. (Does this contest kind of smell like Lee Selby vs Fernando Montiel?) Martinez may be gradually slipping out of the world stage picture, but he at least put in balls-to-the-wall performances against vicious Junior Featherweight titans Carl Frampton (twice) and Scott Quigg.
Santa Cruz (31-0-1, 17 KO), our No.4 Featherweight, will make the second defense of his WBA title against Martinez on February 27th, with the encounter to be hosted at the Honda Center, Anaheim, California. Unbeaten Santa Cruz is coming in off a solid August 2015 win over a tenacious Abner Mares. Meanwhile Martinez has been getting back to winning ways (post Quigg execution in 2015) by defeating fellow Spaniards Herald Molina, Everth Briceno and Miguel Gonzalez.
Esteemed Bantamweights Julio Ceja (30-1, 27 KO) and Hugo Ruiz (35-3, 31 KO) will be doing it all again on the night’s undercard, challenging for the WBC strap. Ceja toppled Ruiz via 5th round knockout in an absolute barnburner last August. So yeah, you’re not going to want to miss this anticipated sequel.
Showtime Picks Up Frampton vs Quigg
UK boxing fans can get their fill of the salivating Frampton vs Quigg clash on Sky Sports Box Office, and now stateside fans won’t have to go out of their to tune in also. Fear not cos’ Showtime’s here, folks! Yes, one of boxing’s biggest US broadcasters has picked up the Junior Featherweight unification fight, bringing all the action from the UK’s Manchester Arena to your telly box.
If you’re not familiar with unbeaten talents Carl Frampton (21-0, 14 KO) and Scott Quigg (31-0-2, 23 KO), you need to slap yourself across the face. And then with the other hand. Frampton is one of Northern Ireland’s favorite sons – trained by Shane McGuigan – and holds the IBF title. Manchester’s WBA champ Quigg is a bona fide rival on UK shores, and has been for quite some time. It of course goes without saying that Frampton vs Quigg will be one of the most important fights of 2016 as it will have a tremendous impact on the division.
I could go on to say it’s guaranteed to deliver fireworks, but I won’t (if you witnessed any of 2015’s ‘KO-promise-events’, you’ll know why I’m reluctant to jump on another hype train).
So, is Santa Cruz vs Martinez a terrible matchup? And – if you’re a US fight fan – has the news of Showtime picking up Frampton vs Quigg made your Monday blues dissipate somewhat?
