By: Sean Crose
“After the match with the Tank, I received a lot of love from the fans,” Leo Santa Cruz said in a video interview with Resist the hype. “That motivates me.” “Tank Battles” was a late 2020 event that saw featherweight super champion Santa Cruz then knocked down in thunderous fashion, thanks to a powerful butt from the lightweight athlete Gervonta Davis. Santa Cruz hasn’t fought since that night (Who can blame him?), but now the 33-year-old is ready to put on his gloves again. On February 5, Santa Cruz will return to the ring to face Keenan Carbajal in a scheduled 12-round featherweight bout.
“I am very excited,” he said in the interview. “I wanted to go out there and just entertain the fans.” For those who may feel 23-2-1 Carbajal is not on the same level as 37-2-1 Santa Cruz, the famous former player wants the world to know that he is not taking his return opponent lightly. . “I knew it was going to be a fight because he was tall, he was taller than me,” Santa Cruz said of Carbajal. “He has a foresight. I knew he was coming to fight… we’re both Mexicans, so we’re going to go out there and fight.”
Santa Cruz seems certain that his game against Carbajal will be an interesting one. “We will both be there to trade punches,” he said, “back and Wednesday.” Then a famous veteran said something that might raise some eyebrows. “I can hit and try not to get hit,” he said, “but I want to hit to entertain the fans.” So, in Santa Cruz’s mind, a boxer is also an entertainer… and excitement is what a boxer owes the audience.
“I think they were more than happy when you were both hit by bullets,” he continued. “I just want to make them happy.” Hopefully he’ll do it this February – without him or Carbajal suffering any serious damage in the process.
