Photo By Esther Lin
Leo Santa Cruz burst onto the scene a few years ago, instantly becoming a boxing-fan favorite. It was easy to see why. He was affable, he didn’t seem to mind getting punched in the face, and he threw about 14,000 punches per fight.
His mauling, relentless style was so pleasing on the eyes that he was handed a slot when CBS aired boxing for the first time since Bernard Hopkins proudly wore his fade top. He beat the living hell out of Alberto Guevara on network television. Everything was coming together beautifully for him. It seemed a foregone conclusion that he’d soon be fighting the likes of Abner Mares, Guillermo Rigondeaux, or any of the top dogs in and around the Bantamweight or Super Bantamweight division.
Unfortunately, as we all know too well, the only forgone conclusion in boxing is that the fans will end up sucking down Pepto Bismol and wondering how the sport continues to shit itself when it matters.
No, Santa Cruz is not facing Rigo. He’s not facing Mares. He’s not really facing anyone of note lately. He’s content to utterly overwhelm horrid competition while contradicting himself about exactly how he wants his career to go.
Instead, Santa Cruz will face Jesus Ruiz tonight on Showtime. Ruiz is possibly a nice guy. I’m not really sure. What I am sure of is he doesn’t belong in a ring with Santa Cruz unless he’s one of the guys who holds down the ropes so he can enter. Now, proponents of the fight (are there any?) will point out that Ruiz has won his last five fights.
That is true. He’s won his last five fights, against feared monsters like Jose Carlos Vargas (14-8-1), Enrique Quevedo (14-5-1), and the dreaded and avoided-like-ebola, Saul Hermosillo (5-7).
Photo by Hogan Photos
So clearly, he was the next logical step in the progression in Leo Santa Cruz’s career.
Then there’s this–Showtime, the network that brought you the compelling dramas Danny Garcia vs. Rod Salka, Lamont Peterson vs. Edgar Santana, and The United States of Tara, is paying LSC $750,000 dollars for his troubles tonight. In case you’re wondering, that is an extraordinary figure for a fighter in the smaller weights, especially for an utter mismatch.
Now, leader of Showtime Sports Stephen Espinoza will probably tell you that all is well with this. It’s all part of the plan, as Special Agent Oso always says. Fuck, I watch too much Disney Channel. But he’s also trying to recover from the rectal plundering he just sustained at the hands of Al Haymon, so there’s a conflict of interest here. But make no mistake, the fight is garbage, and Santa Cruz is going to be grossly overpaid for it.
But hey, that’s not Leo’s fault, is it?
The man is taking minimal risk for a very nice sum of money. And while he would probably make a good cut to fight Rigondeaux, the chances of being completely embarrassed and taken to school would be rather high.
So, we’ve come down again to risk vs. reward. That appears to have been Showtime’s slogan over the past 12 months or so. Crazy to think that in 2013, Showtime appeared to have pulled neck-and-neck with HBO in terms of boxing content, something unheard of at pretty much any other time.
So tonight, Santa Cruz will blast away on a helpless opponent while we’re still preparing ourselves for the Bermane Stiverne vs. Deontay Wilder bout in hopes that they put on a decent scrap. And Santa Cruz will watch his bankroll climb, running perfectly parallel to the number of fight fans he pisses off.
Just another night at the fights.
Header photo by Hogan Photos
