Leo Santa Cruz passes Andrew Cancio straight to the top in new division!

Former WBA “Super” featherweight champion “ EL Terremoto” Leo Santa Cruz (36-1-1, 19ko) has seen his last days in the division as he moves up to face Miguel Flores (24-2, 12ko) for the WBA “Super” junior lightweight championship.

The 31 year old, Mexican boxer will be looking to capture a championship in a fourth division; leapfrogging the WBA “Regular” champion Andrew Cancio, who will be making a second title defense against the number one ranked Rene Alvarado.

Santa Cruz has mentioned before of possibly moving up if a unification bout couldn’t be reached at featherweight. Furthermore, the opportunity of becoming a world champion in yet another division seems to be a good move for the former world champion.

However, the bigger question is “does this mean that a fight with WBC featherweight champion Gary Russell Jr. is officially closed or will they meet at the junior lightweight division?”

The WBC champion has been very vocal about wanting to fight Santa Cruz, even hinting at moving up if necessary. Still one of the biggest road blocks that continue to plague the super talented champion is inactivity.

EXAMINING THE WBA TITLE MOVE

Normally the regular champion is elevated to super status, but this leapfrogging by Santa Cruz is a move we have seen the organization pull before. Furthermore, Cancio has been very vocal about getting his opportunity to be upgraded. This move was granted to Gervonta “Tank” Davis back in 2018 against Jesus Cuellar in his very next bout after losing the IBF title on the scales against Francisco Fonseca.

The only thing that could shed a little sense on this situation is the fact that both the WBA Super and Regular championship will be on the line on the same night. Maybe we could get a bout between the two in 2020 for the super title if both are victorious.

INTERSTING FACTS

Flores, is currently on a two fight win streak and has never held or even fought for a minor title.

Santa Cruz has never lost a fight in Las Vegas or the MGM Grand in particular. As matter of fact, the last time the former champion fought at the latter location resulted in winning back the WBA title in a rematch against Carl Frampton in 2017.

It will be interesting to see if the magic will still be on the side of the three division champion once more.

This scheduled bout is set to take place on the under-card of the upcoming mega heavyweight showdown between WBC champion Deontay Wilder vs Luis Ortiz on November 23rd in Las Vegas. FOX will broadcast the event over pay-per-view!

By: Garrisson Bland

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