It’s Cruz control for Carl
NICK PARKINSON CARL FRAMPTON expects his rematch with Leo Santa Cruz to be easier than their last sensational scrap.
The Belfast boxer’s name is up in lights down the Las Vegas strip where he meets the Mexican on Saturday.
Frampton earned a thrilling majority points decision the last time the pair met in July.
But Santa Cruz’s father and trainer Jose was absent from much of his son’s training camp before that fight as he fought bone cancer.
Leo reckons that absence meant he lacked a gameplan first time around against Frampton (below).
But his dad is better now and will be in his son’s corner for the rematch where a large Mexican support is expected at the MGM Grand.
That does not worry WBA world featherweight champ Frampton, 29.
He said: “I’m expecting a tough fight but I don’t know if I’m expecting a better one.
“Last time there were a lot of excuses thrown about afterwards but I think that is Leo Santa Cruz, that’s how he fights.
“I believe it will be a tough fight but the way I’m training at the minute, if I bring it into the ring then it should be an easier fight.
“I actually think I’ll beat him and I think it will be more comfortable this time.”
But Santa Cruz is looking at things rather differently.
He said: “The difference now is I’m more motivated, with no worries or obstacles.
“For the first fight I was thinking about my dad and was not very focused, I was focused on him.
“But in this fight Frampton is going to face the real Leo Santa Cruz.”
Frampton had a brilliant 2016, beating Scott Quigg in a world super-bantamweight title unification fight before stepping up a division to beat Santa Cruz in the States.
And he insists there is no chance of his Vegas dream turning into a nightmare, like it did for his manager Barry McGuigan in 1986.
McGuigan lost on points to Steve Cruz but Frampton said: “I know what happened with Barry’s fight, it was about 105 degrees!”
The Australian has told his players to stop thinking only about Ireland and the British Lions.
The England head coach, who admits he is surprised by the level of hatred from the rest of the Six Nations rivals, claims the only thing Dylan Hartley and his team-mates need to worry about is beating France at Twickenham.
And he intends to clamp down hard on anyone who takes their eye off the ball in the coming weeks.
Jones wants nothing to do with talk about a second successive Grand Slam with the possible shootout in Dublin at the end of the Six Nations where England could possibly better New Zealand’s 18-match winning streak.
And he does not want his players to worry too much about being in Warren Gatland’s squad for New Zealand in June.
He said: “The biggest challenge for 2017 is simple. Complacency. At the moment players are talking about Lions, and they are always asked about the Lions.
“Naturally, a Lions tour is always a massive attraction but also can be a distraction in terms of players focusing on the future rather than focusing on what’s going on at the moment.
“Then you’ve got the expectation of the team – every time someone comes up to JULIE STOTT