Carl Frampton is the sports betting odds favorite to beat Leo Santa Cruz back-to-back when the two meet for a WBA (Super) featherweight title rematch on January 28th at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in the Las Vegas-adjacent town of Paradise, Nevada. These are sports gambling lines for the bout:
Leo Santa Cruz – 10? (-245) +135
Carl Frampton – 10? (+205) -155
Sports Betting Odds on El Terremoto
Prior to the fateful date of July 30th, 2016, Santa Cruz’s career was a straight shot to stardom. El Terremoto (which roughly translates to The Dirt Biker) was undefeated with a 32-0-1 record, a former IBF bantamweight and WBC super bantamweight champion, and the then current WBA (Super) featherweight champion. He even performed in the Plaza de Toros in Mexico City, an honor usually reserved for, well, matadors. Sadly, he did not box a bull on that occasion, but still.
Santa Cruz Defending Title
All of that changed when Santa Cruz defended his WBA (Super) featherweight title against Frampton. It was a grueling 12-round affair at Barclays Center in New York City, New York that Frampton won on points. If only it’d been suture points, Santa Cruz might have had a chance to retain. It was very close, so much so that judge Guido Cavalleri scored the fight 114-114, but Tom Schreck scored it 117-111 and Frank Lombardi 116-112 both in favor of Frampton. Sort of like reverse sports betting odds, in that they are revealed after the fight.
Frampton
As for the favorite per sports gambling lines, Frampton said of the first bout with Santa Cruz that he “wanted to be in a fight people would remember.” Even if he doesn’t. because of all the shots to the head and whatnot. Frampton is a two-weight world champion, having previously held the IBF super-bantamweight title from and the WBA (Super) super-bantamweight title.
ESPN Fighter of the Year
By defeating Santa Cruz, Frampton became the first Northern Irish boxer to have held world championships in two weight classes. He was also named ESPN Fighter of the Year. On a related note, he was named Britain’s Coolest Man by ZOO Magazine, beating the David Beckham, Tom Hardy and Ed Sheeran. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a fatal four-way match. this fight may be a rematch, but for Santa Cruz it will also be a clean slate – or tabula rasa, as Aristotle would say. The Mexican has said he will go in as if the bout was for his first world title.
Going to go make a name for myself
He even added that he is “going to go make a name for myself.” Are you sure about that? Léodegario Santa Cruz is already a mouthful. In addition to that, this will be Santa Cruz’s seventh fight at the MGM Garden – only Elton John has performed more times there, maybe? – so he figures that whatever he lacks in sports betting odds favoritism, he will make up for in local support. Like Mickey Garcia, Santa Cruz will attempt to bring back a title to Los Angeles, but unlike Garcia, the sports gambling lines do not favor Santa Cruz to do so.