Round 2: Carl Frampton vs. Leo Santa Cruz sequel could be another entertaining slugfest

It will be a heavy burden for the Carl Frampton-Leo Santa Cruz featherweight-title sequel on Saturday to improve upon their riveting first bout last July.

Frampton’s World Boxing Assn. majority decision triumph was so entertaining that Santa Cruz lost despite throwing more than 1,000 punches.

A staggering 80% of punches landed in the bout were considered “power” punches by statistician CompuBox. In 10 of the 12 rounds, the margin of punches thrown by each fighter was six or less, and only 13 punches separated the participants at bout’s end.

Former three-division world champion Santa Cruz (32-1-1, 18 knockouts), of Los Angeles, was so certain he could win a rematch he committed to it inside the ring.

And Northern Ireland’s Frampton (23-0, 14 KOs), bound by a rematch clause, was so confident after his showing, he accepted the scheduling of the bout in Las Vegas, less than an hour’s flight from Santa Cruz’s fan base.

That doesn’t mean Frampton won’t have fervent support. An estimated 5,000 of his fans made the trip from the British Isles to the Strip, repurposing the impassioned song “There’s only one Carl Frampton!” previously reserved for U.K. champions Ricky Hatton and Joe Calzaghe as they marched to Friday’s weigh-in.

One Frampton supporter told of selling his car to pay for the flight, and another told Frampton’s promoter, and former featherweight champion Barry McGuigan, that he came even after his fiancée said the engagement would be off if he did.

“This fight won’t be too much different. Our styles jell well,” Frampton said. “Leo’s a tremendous fighter who I have a lot of respect for. When you have two guys going at it … you have the ingredients for a top-quality contest.

“There’s no doubt both of us will do whatever it takes to win this fight, but the way things have been going for me this training camp, I’m extremely confident of getting the win. I’m up for it. I will come back victorious. The support I have is fantastic. I’m hoping to send them all home very happy.”

Santa Cruz, now bound himself to a rematch clause that would send him to Frampton’s hometown of Belfast, Northern Ireland, for a possible summer trilogy fight, has yearned so much for revenge that he’s said he’ll consider retirement if he loses Saturday.

There’s an intriguing tug-of-war in play for Santa Cruz, whose nature is to slug it out with abandon.

It was that very approach that cost him in the first bout, when Frampton rocked him back to the ropes in the second round and claimed the narrowest rounds by delivering the defining punches.

That first meeting was an emotional journey for Santa Cruz, who started training camp with his brothers in his corner as father-trainer Jose Santa Cruz endured chemotherapy treatments for myeloma (bone cancer) in the spine.

Jose Santa Cruz returned to train his son in the fight, but instructions to abandon the fighter’s typical style weren’t effectively employed.

Now, Jose Santa Cruz, healthy in the full training camp for the rematch, has said that his son has focused on the best boxing and defensive tactics to capitalize on his seven-inch reach and two-inch height advantages over Frampton.

Figuring out how to beat the resilient, hard-hitting Frampton is a challenge Leo Santa Cruz was still working to solve in the hours leading to his ring walk.

“I can use my distance, can box, but I never do that because sometimes that makes for a boring fight,” Santa Cruz said. “This fight, I have to think about myself. A lot of people are telling me to be smart, to use my distance. With Frampton, I don’t have to brawl. So I’m going to try to do a little bit of everything. Brawl, use my distance, be smart and do what I have to do to win this fight.”

Abner Mares, the WBA secondary featherweight champion from Hawaiian Gardens who fought Santa Cruz at Staples Center in 2015, said he’s interested in what his neighborhood rival will do.

“A guy that has a game plan doesn’t really tell you the game plan. He only has one type of style. There’s not much he can change,” Mares said. “Frampton can do many things. But nevertheless, Leo’s a great fighter and a guy who can overwhelm you with the punches he throws.”

Mikey Garcia, a former two-division champion, seeks a third belt in the co-main event against Montenegro’s unbeaten Dejan Zlaticanin, a heavy-handed World Boxing Council champion.

“I’m taking on the biggest challenges available to gain the credibility I need … that’s where I prove myself,” said Garcia, who returned from a 30-month contract dispute with his former promoter to win a July undercard bout to Frampton-Santa Cruz I in Brooklyn.

“I could cherry pick myself. That’s not what I want. I need to take titles away from legitimate champions. [Zlaticanin] seems to be the most dangerous in the division now.”

Saturday’s fight

Who: Carl Frampton (23-0, 14 KOs), Northern Ireland, vs. Leo Santa Cruz (32-1-1, 18 KOs), Los Angeles, for Frampton’s World Boxing Assn. featherweight belt.

When: Saturday, 7 p.m.

Where: MGM Grand, Las Vegas.

Television: Showtime.

Tickets: $54-$504, at www.AXS.com

Undercard: Dejan Zlaticanin (22-0, 15 KOs), Montenegro, vs. Mikey Garcia, (35-0, 29 KOs), Riverside, for Zlaticanin’s World Boxing Council lightweight belt.

lance.pugmire@latimes.com

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