Showtime Fight Preview

Carl Frampton vs. Leo Santa Cruz

Carl Frampton and Leo Santa Cruz first met in July of 2016 in what become one of the best fights of the year.  Frampton won that fight but really there were no losers.  That fight earned the runner-up slot for the 2016 Fight of the Year, the second round was the honorable mention for Round of the Year, and Frampton did well enough to win the coveted Fighter of the Year award.  On Saturday night on Showtime the two will go head-to-head in a much anticipated rematch scheduled to go 12 rounds from the featherweight division where Frampton's WBA title will be on the line.

Frampton was 2016's Fighter of the Year

Frampton fights out of the orthodox stance and he has an aggressive style that sees him get off first much of the time.  He has fast hands and that speed allows him to find a lot of success with his jab.  Following that jab Frampton likes to throw a straight right hand and that is a dangerous weapon for him when he throws it from the proper distance.  His best punch however, is his left hook which he loves to bang to the body, especially on the inside.  At times Frampton can get too aggressive which leaves him open for counter fire and he has been dropped before because of that.  Frampton usually recovers quickly though so if you do drop him you need to make sure he stays down.

Frampton was brought along at a nice pace and at 29 years old he now sits atop the featherweight division.  His career record is a perfect one of 23-0 with 14 knockouts and Frampton is your prototypical boxer-puncher.  2016 was a fantastic year for Frampton and really the best of his career.  First he beat Scott Quigg in a huge fight in the U.K., then went on to handle Santa Cruz in front of a raucous crowd in Brooklyn. New York.  This time around Frampton will travel to Las Vegas in an attempt to once again beat Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz will look to get revenge on Saturday

Santa Cruz is also an orthodox fighter and he happens to be one of the busiest punchers in all of boxing.  He likes to work behind a long jab and behind it he will bring an excellent straight right hand.  That straight right hand is accurate and he will also throw an overhand right at times.  While his left work could still use some work he does like to dig it to the body on the inside.  Like Frampton, Santa Cruz isn't exactly slick on defense and he will take his fair share of return fire.  He has shown an excellent chin though and he has never been down before in his career.

When you look at Santa Cruz's resume you will see a number of experienced Mexican fighters who he has beaten.  His career record is 32-1-1 with 18 knockouts and Frampton handed him the first loss of his career.  Before that Santa Cruz put together impressive wins over solid fighters with his biggest win coming against Abner Mares in 2015.  Despite being naturally bigger, two and half inches taller, and having a seven inch reach advantage Santa Cruz wasn't able to use those advantages in his first fight with Frampton.

It will be interesting to see what adjustment Santa Cruz has made from his first fight with Frampton.  In their first fight he spent too much time on the inside where his height and reach advantages were nullified.  In their rematch look for Santa Cruz to try and stay on the outside where he can use his height and reach advantages properly.  As for Frampton, he won the first fight so all he really needs to do is more of the same.  Look for Frampton to be as aggressive as usual and try to make Santa Cruz stand in the pocket and trade.  One thing is for sure, the action should be non-stop because both fighters have very good stamina and stay active well into the late rounds.

PREDICTION: Leo Santa Cruz can win this fight if he stays on the outside and fights intelligently.  However, that just isn't Santa Cruz's style and Carl Frampton will be able to draw him into another firefight.  Because Frampton's punches are shorter and crisper he will often beat Santa Cruz to the punch and that will help him win this fight by the way of unanimous decision.

Dejan Zlaticanin vs. Mikey Garcia

Saturday's co-feature on Showtime will be a bout between WBC lightweight champion Dejan Zlaticanin and Mikey Garcia.  The fight is scheduled to go 12 rounds and Zlaticanin will be putting his WBC title on the line.  For Zlaticanin this will be one of, if not the biggest fight of his career.  Meanwhile for Garcia this will be his first serious test since returning from a two year absence from the ring.

Zlaticanin has never lost a fight as a professional

Zlaticanin is a short, compact southpaw fighter with solid pop on his punches.  He fights in a similar fashion to Mike Tyson in that he is shorter than most of his opponents and seems to throw everything with bad intentions.  Unfortunately Zlaticanin doesn't have the same type of power as Tyson though.  Typically Zlaticanin will walk in behind a high, tight guard and no jab and he has a mean right hook along with a dangerous overhand left.  What makes Zlaticanin so dangerous is that all of his punches are very compact and explosive and he absolutely loves to bang to the body.

As a professional Zlaticanin has put together a perfect record of 22-0 with a strong 15 knockouts.  While he has notable wins over Ivan Redkach and Petr Petrov the biggest win of his career came against Ricky Burns in 2014 in Burns' native Scotland.  However, it was in his last fight, against the mostly unknown Franklin Mamani, that Zlaticanin won his title and he won't want to give it up against Garcia.

Garcia is still fighting his way back to prominence

Before his two year absence from the sport Garcia was one of the 10 best fighters in all of boxing.  He fights out of the orthodox stance and he bang and box equally well.  Garcia fights behind an accurate and stiff jab and he follows that jab with his best punch, his straight right hand.  Usually Garcia begins fights very slowly as he dissects and figures out his opponents weaknesses.  Once he has those weaknesses figured out Garcia goes to work and usually dominates his opponent.  Along with his right hand Garcia also has a strong left hook and really the only flaw in his game is that he is prone to the flash knockdown.

Following a dominant win in 2014 over Juan Carlos Burgos, Garcia left the sport for two years.  That leave of absence was mainly due to promotional issues and since returning to the sport Garcia has fought once.  That fight came against Elio Rojas and he looked like he had never left, scoring an easy fifth round stoppage.  His career record is a perfect one of 35-0 with a strong 29 knockouts and against Zlaticanin, Garcia will have a height and reach advantage of three inches.  Certainly Zlaticanin isn't the best fighter Garcia has faced but he is a dangerous puncher and he will be Garcia's toughest test since returning to the ring.

This could be a fun fight and one that should go a long way in telling just how back Garcia truly is.  Zlaticanin is a serious puncher and his body work could take a lot out of Garcia.  However, Garcia hits just as hard as Zlaticanin, if not harder and he is also the much better boxer.  Look for Garcia to use his height and reach advantage to pick Zlaticanin apart with his jab and straight right hand.  Meanwhile, Zlaticanin will probably look to stay in the pocket in an effort to breakdown Garcia's body and catch him clean in an attempt to end the fight early.

PREDICTION: This will be a dangerous fight for Mikey Garcia because he has been dropped before and Dejan Zlaticanin is a serious puncher.  However, if Garcia looks like he usually does he should be too skilled and too slick for Zlaticanin.  It may be a tough night for him but Garcia will win this fight with a 10th round stoppage.