Santa Cruz targets Russell unification clash before super featherweight move

By Peter Gilbert

Leo Santa Cruz is adamant he wants to face WBC featherweight champion Gary Russell Jr. later this year in a unification showdown.

The 30-year-old, who secured a second win over Abner Mares to win the WBC Diamond belt in his last fight in June, returns to the ring with a voluntary title defence against Miguel Flores next month.

Santa Cruz insists he is not overlooking his fellow Mexican but believes if he is successful a showdown with Russell must follow before he chases his dream of becoming a four-weight champion.

“I want it, the fans want it and I need those fights to unify,” Santa Cruz told BoxingScene.com.

“I wanna move up to 130, and if I don’t get the Gary Russell fight, I’m not going to be able to move up to 130. If I just move up to 130, they’re gonna be like, ‘Oh, Leo was scared of [Russell]. That’s why he moved up in weight.’ So first, I wanna finish business against [Russell], and then I could happily move up to 130.”

Russell successfully defended his title for a fourth time by claiming a unanimous decision over Joseph Diaz Jr. last May. The 30-year-old suffered his sole defeat in 30 fights when he lost a close decision to Ukrainian great Vasyl Lomachenko in 2014.

“A lot of people consider Gary Russell one of the best in the division, maybe the best, maybe even better than me,” added Santa Cruz on sportingnews.com.  “I think it could be the best fight that could happen.

“I want to be a four-division champion. I’ve been a three-division world champion. Hopefully, I’ll unify the 126lbs division and then I want to move up to 130 and keep on growing my legacy.

“I want to be remembered as one of the best in boxing.”