Key Points to consider should Leo Santa Cruz and Scott Quigg fight:
The super bantamweight division has been heating up for a while now. Guillermo Rigondeaux is the division’s resident champion, though beneath him are a fusillade of highly-touted up and comers with ambitions to match their burgeoning talent. Two such men are Bury, England’s Scott Quigg and California’s Leo Santa Cruz (ranked as the #4 and #1 contenders respectively).
Both are soft spoken yet hard-hitting pugilists with an eye on one another. Recently, Quigg stated he would readily fight his Mexican counterpart anywhere, and a showdown between the pair would not only be meaningful, but incredibly entertaining. So, how would this fight play out? Here are some key points to consider when answering such a question.
Scott Quigg of more than one dimension
It would be easy to glance at Scott Quigg’s resume and determine him to be a straight-forward slugger. Indeed, his punching power has played a critical role in his success so far. But Quigg has shown himself to be multifaceted, and his boxing skills are not to be underestimated.
He showed strong evidence of this when he went in with the technically-gifted Cuban; Yoandris Salinas, earning a draw decision. In what amounted to a close fight throughout, Quigg started patiently, using his jab and going shot for shot with Salinas in a tentative chess match. As the fight wore on Quigg grew in aggression and punch output, and could perhaps feel wronged not to have earned the win. Nonetheless, he showed a fine example of himself as a two-dimensional fighter: both boxer and brawler.
Swarming Santa Cruz’s power in perspective
Santa Cruz nickname is “Teremoto”. Translated into English, that would be “Earthquake”. It is apt given the tremors Santa Cruz has caused during his ascension to world class so far, namely in thrashing both Eric Morel and Victor Terrazas. However, as he climbed up to super bantamweight last year his power has only terrified in fits and starts.
The Terrazas win was impressively short in distance, but he had to settle for points decisions over the awkward Cesar Seda and astute veteran Cristian Mijares at the back end of 2013. Santa Cruz has always been a swarmer, applying pressure few else can equal, but has the move up in weight allied itself with a relative decline in power? It’s perhaps too early to tell, but Santa Cruz will have to prepare for some grueling fights if and when fellow punchers stand up to his shots.
Location could be crucial
Depending on the mental state of a fighter, the location of a fight can play a part in its eventual outcome. In a fight like this, between two talented, young, world-class fighters, the opportunity to fight in front of a homecrowd can be a defining point.
With the world watching you against your toughest opponent yet, the choice between a partisan army of locals cheering your every feint in a well-known venue is highly favorable to a small batch of faithful but unheard fans and dreary yawns in response to your best work, in a setting far away from home. In a fight which could be swung by the finest of margins, home comforts are more than likely to play their part.
The ultimate power play gone wrong
Both Santa Cruz and Quigg are owners of paper world belts. Both are 25 years old. Both are considered as having their best years ahead of them. A fight between the two would have a significant amount of marbles on the line. Enough to make or break a career, it could be suggested. That leads to a high-stakes environment for each man.
Whichever man wins, he would hold important cards when it comes to negotiating for future fights, creating a small stranglehold with two alphabet world belts draped over their shoulders. The loser, of course, would leave with little to show for his risk-taking. The ability to handle such pressure would be a show of true courage.
