Boxing notes: Could a Carl Frampton victory lead to a battle of Britain?
The primary beneficiary of a Carl Frampton victory Saturday night would be England’s International Boxing Federation featherweight champion Lee Selby.
In his third defense of the belt, Selby (23-1, 8 KOs) meets Argentina’s Jonathan Victor Barros (41-4-1, 22 KOs). That bout is on the undercard of the Showtime-televised main event pitting WBA featherweight champion Frampton against Los Angeles’ former three-division world champion Leo Santa Cruz.
Northern Ireland’s Frampton has made it clear he wants to fight next in his hometown of Belfast. If Frampton and Selby win this weekend a title unification bout between them makes sense.
“That would be a big unification,” Selby said. “I’m going in confident. Title fights are always tough, but I should win [Saturday] by using my jab, boxing intelligently, not getting hit and then rock him.”
Selby accepted the bout in Las Vegas – just his second U.S. date following a 2015 title triumph over Fernando Montiel in Arizona – as a way to boost his profile, following the path of Frampton who is fighting in the U.S. for the third time since 2015.
“My opponent is not as high-profile as Santa Cruz, so I won’t get the credit Frampton’s getting, but even if he loses, I’d like to come back here and fight [WBC featherweight champion] Gary Russell Jr. or [WBO champion] Oscar Valdez,” Selby said.
Comeback bouts
Los Angeles-based fight promoter Richard Schaefer, sidelined from the business after leaving his job of chief executive of Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, is staging his first Las Vegas fight since 2014 with Frampton-Santa Cruz.
His new Ringstar Sports is assembling talent and more fight dates with this week’s signing of France’s Olympic super-heavyweight Olympic champion Tony Yoka.
“Crown jewel of the Olympic class … fought and won twice against current [WBO] heavyweight champion Joseph Parker in the amateurs, he’s 6-foot-7, very athletic, bilingual,” Schaefer said. “He’s the kind of celebrity athlete who can spark boxing in France again.”
Yoka will debut in May in Paris as part of a new television deal that Schaefer struck in France, and he’ll train in Oakland under trainer Virgil Hunter.
Schaefer also aligned with England cruiserweight David Haye and is close to finalizing a mid-March date at L.A. Live headlined by U.S. Olympian Carlos Balderas.
Etc.
HBO will televise the return of WBC super-featherweight champion Francisco Vargas (23-0-1, 17 KOs) Saturday against Mexico’s Miguel Berchelt from Fantasy Springs Resort and Casino.
Mexico’s Vargas is expected to be honored by a second-consecutive fight-of-the-year award by the Boxing Writers Assn. of America for his June 4 draw with countryman Orlando Salido.
“This title cost me a lot to win, and I am not going to let it go easily,” Vargas said.
Twitter: @latimespugmire
Get our high school sports newsletter
Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
