Leo Santa Cruz on Guillermo Rigondeaux, Manuel Roman and cancer
WBC super bantamweight champion Leo Santa Cruz considers former training partner Manuel Roman a friend. Still, the Mexican fighter didn't hesitate to sign on the dotted line to fight Roman on Sep. 13 on the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather vs. Marcos Maidana II ppv.
Santa Cruz and Roman didn't bother to speak or text with one another before deciding to fighting one another, either. The way the champ looks at it, his admiration of and respect for Roman made giving him a title shot an easy decision.
"No, we didn’t talk about nothing," Santa Cruz tells Yahoo! Sports.
"I decided to give him the opportunity because he's worked hard and he deserves it."
In the world of prize fighting, fighting a friend is a way to give one another professional opportunities, in addition to black eyes. However, Santa Cruz says that he won't have any problem pulling the trigger on Roman in the squared circle, come fight night.
"Training to fight him is a bit tough, psychologically, but naw," he maintains.
"Once we're up there, we can't think about that. It's our business, and our future. You can never step back. We will go for what we always do."
Something that has concerned Santa Cruz much more the past couple years is his brother's battle with cancer. "It's been hard. But it definitely adds motivation," he says.
"When I was training I would feel bad because I'd think about him in the hospital and I'd wonder how he was doing. He had to go back and forth to the hospital a lot. I couldn't concentrate on training. It was difficult. I was thinking of him. At the same time, when I would go to see him and see him hurting...," the loving brother trails off.
"He told me that he wanted to give up. That he didn't want to live anymore. I told him not to think like that, to fight for his life and that I would train hard and fight in the ring. I told him to stay alive so he could have kids. Right now he doesn't have kids. I told him if he stayed alive and had a family, I would work hard, fight and help him out. I told him I'd help him raise his kids."
Though it has been trying for the Santa Cruz family, the boxer says that his brother has been doing much better the past year. "It's been good for a year, thank God," he says.
Though Santa Cruz respects his opponent, future potential challenges for the champion cannot be ignored. Namely, WBA/WBO champion Guillermo Rigondeaux.
The Cuban champ has publicly called out and taunted Santa Cruz. And, while the California-based fighter has brushed off the talk in the past, he admits to being annoyed.
"It bothers me," he says.
"I already said I’ll fight him. It's not up to me. Just because I say, 'yes,' does not make it happen. I've got to talk to the whole team and my manager. It does bother me so if I win this fight, I'm pushing to fight [Rigondeaux]. I'm pushing for it soon."
Of course, Santa Cruz feels confident he has what it takes to beat Roman and Rigondeaux, both. First up, is his former training partner.
"I may have trained my hardest for this fight on September 13, than any other fight," he says.
"I feel good. I feel strong. I've also been doing a lot of strength and conditioning. I feel better than any other camp before. We are going to give it our best."
Should Santa Cruz get past Roman and gets his wish in fighting Rigondeauz afterwards, he acknowledges the task will be great. That said, he believes that with the right strategy and tactics, he could very well nab some new gold for himself.
"I think I have to pressure him and stay on top of him and not give him distance," Santa Cruz said of fighting Rigondeaux.
"I'll have to try to cut the ring off, go to the body and not let him move."
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