Photo by Esther Lin
Late last week it was announced that the reigning WBC Super Bantamweight Champion, Leo Santa Cruz (27-0-1, 15 KOs), would be featured in the co-main event on the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Marcos Maidana rematch card against—wait for it—Manuel Roman (17-2-3, 6 KOs).
Yes, that Manuel Roman. Oh wait, what’s that? You’ve never heard of Roman? He’s only the No. 91 ranked Bantamweight in the world (according to BoxRec.com).
BoxRec has two upcoming fights currently listed for Roman. One against Santa Cruz and one against Javier Gallo (21-9-1, 12 KOs), which is scheduled to be held at the Del Marr Fairgrounds for the USA California State Bantamweight title.
Obviously, the fight against Gallo will not be happening, but that seems like a much more suitable matchup for Roman who isn’t even ranked at Super Bantamweight.
Many of you may remember that only a few short weeks ago Light Welterweight top dog, Danny Garcia, was bombarded with calls of cherry picker on every social media platform imaginable because he was set to face a man not many people had heard of in Rod Salka.
In the end, Salka turned out to be—as Dennis Green aptly put it—who we thought he was. Salka was an undersized, overmatched Lightweight that had no business being in the ring with Garcia.
But for as much grief as Garcia got over that fight, the same verbal thrashing has not been given to Santa Cruz when it seems the situation is quite similar, if not worse.
Why is that?
It can be argued that Salka at Lightweight is more accomplished then Roman at Bantamweight, especially given their divisional rankings—Salka is ranked No. 74 at Lightweight according to BoxRec. It can also be stated fairly easily that Garcia’s resume is better than that of Santa Cruz’s.
Garcia went through a five-fight stretch at Light Welterweight that included bouts against Amir Khan, Erik Morales, Zab Judah, Lucas Matthysse and Mauricio Herrera.
Out of that bunch you can possibly criticize the Morales fight, but then again Morales gave Marcos Maidana a hell of a fight.
Santa Cruz’s last four fights were against Alexander Munoz, Victor Terrazas, Cesar Seda and Cristian Mijares.
Not exactly cleaning out the division, but a serviceable list.
Photo by Naoki Fukada
The point here is that if anyone deserved a “gimme” fight, it may have been Garcia, not Santa Cruz. And in case you haven’t realized it, Manuel Roman is a gimme.
Even if you disagree with Garcia facing an opponent like Salka—which I do—you have to give him credit for facing and defeating probably the most feared fighter in the division in Matthysse.
Santa Cruz has a “most feared fighter” in his division as well. His name is Guillermo Rigondeaux. While Matthysse is known for his ridiculous knockout power, “El Chacal” is known for his slick boxing ability and making high-level opponents look average.
That is the fight that should be taking place as the co-main event for “Mayhem,” not Santa Cruz vs. Roman. But then again, Al Haymon is known for guiding his fighters towards these types of bouts.
Having said all that, it’s pretty clear that the Mexican faithful is not ready to crucify one of their young champions, especially one as likable as Santa Cruz. But unfortunately for Garcia, the Puerto Rican contingent is not as steadfast.
Perhaps the accusations that Garcia is only “Sorta Rican” have something to do with it. Puerto Rico is a boxing crazed island, but their fan base does not seem to fully stand behind Garcia even at a time when they lack any island-born champions.
But all nationalistic allegiances aside, there seems to be a big double standard going on here and I for one can’t let it slide.
Santa Cruz—like Garcia—has no business taking on a smaller, overmatched opponent and the fans should not have to put up with it. No, every fight doesn’t have to be Hagler-Hearns, but please, at least fight someone in your division with a pulse.
We heard what Garcia had to say in defense of his fight with Salka, which basically passed all of the blame onto the mystical being known as Al Haymon.
But what does Santa Cruz say?
During a conference call on Wednesday, August 20, 2014, I asked Santa Cruz what he would say to detractors who feel like his fight against Roman is not worthy of being the co-main event.
"I've seen Roman since the amateurs, on paper it may be a mismatch but I know he's a great fighter" @leosantacruz2 doesn't underestimate
— GoldenBoyPromotions (@GoldenBoyBoxing) August 20, 2014
To his credit, Santa Cruz is treating this bout the same as any other and will come prepared to put on an impressive performance.
Like Garcia with Salka, Santa Cruz must get Roman out early and in highlight-reel fashion and move on to bigger and better fights. But even if he does, he shouldn’t expect everyone to stand up and cheer.
Roundtable Interview with Leo Santa Cruz
Leo Santa Cruz Roundtable – RBRBoxing from Round By Round Boxing on Vimeo.
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Header photo by Esther Lin
