Leo Santa Cruz & Al Haymon Team Up – Oscar De La Hoya Left in the Dust

By Lou Eisen

By now, everyone and their dog knows the WBC world super bantamweight champion Leo Santa Cruz, 29-0-1, 17 KO’s has parted ways with his longtime promoter, Golden Boy Promotions and joined forces with boxing’s number one power broker, Al Haymon. Haymon used to act as an advisor Santa Cruz but now has become his full time manager of record. To be precise, Al Haymon purchased the contract of Santa Cruz from Golden Boy Promotions, taking sole control of his already flourishing career. Haymon now has an unshakeable grasp of just about every top-flight boxer in the world except for those few remaining in Europe. The question to be asked here is, does Haymon’s ironclad control of the world’s top boxers benefit the sport and it’s fans.

Golden Boy Promotions owner and founder, Oscar De La Hoya was working hard to book a super bantamweight title unification bout between Santa Cruz and Cuban wunderkind Guillermo Rigondeaux. De La Hoya and fight fans worldwide were under the distinct impression that Santa Cruz was eager to prove his mastery over the Cuban boxing master. In fact, Santa Cruz had made a habit of calling out Rigondeaux after most of his recent victories. Yet, when push came to shove, Santa Cruz opted to become a free agent, not beholden to any promoter.

It is highly unlikely that Haymon will allow Santa Cruz to face Rigondeaux for a variety of reasons and Santa Cruz seems to be all right with that decision, unfortunately. This may be a good move for Santa Cruz but it is bad news for fight fans and the economy of boxing. Such a move does not say much about the credibility of Santa Cruz. To be the best you must fight the best and Santa Cruz is clearly not willing to do so at this time.

Does this mean that Santa Cruz was being less than honest with his legion of fight fans? That is hard to say with any degree of certainty. Oscar De La Hoya was attempting to secure for Santa Cruz the fights he so desired. After his most recent win, a dubious eighth round stoppage victory over the serviceable Robert Ruiz at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Santa Cruz once again called out Rigondeaux, 15-0, 10 KO’s, challenging him to a super bantamweight title unification fight.

Rigondeaux is the superb, as yet unbeaten WBO super bantamweight champion and the WBA super world super bantamweight champ as well. This is a fight that boxing fans the world over would love to see as it contains all of the necessary elements to be a bona fide Fight of the Year candidate.

Santa Cruz and Rigondeaux match up well together. A fight between them would be a classic puncher versus boxer bout and that always makes for outstanding, action-packed fights. Santa Cruz is always coming forward, throwing hard, vicious punches from all angles. Santa Cruz puts his punches together well in dynamic, pain inducing combinations.

Santa Cruz’s relentless, two-fisted body attack is a thing of beauty, savage though it may be. Cruz has heavy hands and a thudding jab and is able to get great leverage on all of his power shots, including his jab. Even when Santa Cruz partially catches an opponent with a shot, he does untold damage. Santa Cruz never misses an opportunity to capitalize on his foes mistakes. He is an indomitable fighter who is able to raise the level of his game as a fight progresses.

The fights of Santa Cruz are always exciting as he is perpetually coming forward, looking to take out his ring rivals with every shot he throws. One can only hope that the change from GBP to Haymon will not in any way adversely affect or change Santa Cruz’s eye-popping, fan-friendly fighting style.

Rigondeaux is a classic Cuban boxer whose ring generalship is unequaled in the sport today except perhaps for Floyd Mayweather, JR. Rigondeaux is a defensive master, with perfect balance and tremendous ring vision. His feet are more than educated. They have a doctorate in boxing mobility. He is also a master of the lost art of the head and shoulder feint, using both to lure his rivals out of position and thus, ready to be hit. Rigondeaux has very fast hands, and puts his punches together in very tight, short, multi-punch flurries. He knows exactly when to go to an opponent’s body in order to bring his arms down, freeing up his head for further abuse.

Rigondeaux was not thought to possess devastating punching power. However, on January 31, 2014, he put that misconception to rest forever by stopping Hisashi Amagasa in round 11 at the Bodymaker Colosseum, in Osaka, Japan. Rigondeaux showed his mental and physical toughness by rising from two knockdowns in round seven. He came roaring back to floor Amagasa in round nine and stop him in round 11.

Another major difference between the two warriors is that Cruz throws looping punches whereas Rigondeaux throws his shots in a tight arc. In a clash between the two combatants, look for Rigondeaux to get their first with his shots but for Santa Cruz to land the heavier blows. The question to be answered is whose shots will have the more concussive and cumulative effect?

Rigondeaux wears his foes down with an accumulation of pinpoint accurate shots. Santa Cruz has numbing power and is able to chop a man down and render him senseless with just three to four blows at a time. The fact that such a sensational contest is now thought to be unattainable at this moment is particularly upsetting when you consider that De La Hoya was well on his way to making this fight a reality. Now with Santa Cruz’s sudden departure for seemingly greener pastures a unification bout with Rigondeaux is nothing more than a mirage.

The list of fighters now managed by Al Haymon is extensive and it is growing exponentially every day. One has to really wonder if Haymon has enough time in the day to give each star fighter on his elongated roster the time and attention they each believe they deserve. His number one priority is and always will be, Floyd Mayweather , JR. The financial success of Mayweather is the main reason why every other fighter on Haymon’s roster has signed with him.

Mayweather is the economic engine, which drives Haymon’s success and his ability to attract the best fighters in boxing today. All of the heavy hitters signed by Haymon want to duplicate Mayweather’s success and increase their own earnings five to tenfold, but is that even possible, let alone feasible in today’s overcrowded sports markets?

Mayweather’s unbeaten record and his stated attempt to best Rocky Marciano’s record of 49-0, the Holy Grail of boxing records, is a large part of what makes so many fans around the globe willing to part with their money to watch him fight on PPV. Mind you, the majority of those fans are paying to watch Mayweather lose. Of course, the fact that Mayweather’s boxing skills are extraordinary doesn’t hurt either. Then again, what distinguishes Mayweather from other great fighters in his era (and it is his era) is his willingness to fight just about any fighter of worth between 147 and 154 lbs except of course, for Manny Pacquiao.

Was Santa Cruz’s decision to sign with Haymon a wise choice? Well, that is a question that can’t be answered for several years yet. Will he get anywhere near the kind of money Mayweather gets every time he steps in the ring? Not a chance in hell. Santa Cruz will earn what the market bears, or to be more succinct, he will make exactly what the other super bantamweight titleholders earn and likely not a nickel more, regardless of the fact, that Al Haymon manages him. In other words, Santa Cruz may have bought into a dream that doesn’t really exist.

The larger question here is, is Al Haymon good for boxing? By signing so many of boxing’s major stars, Haymon has become the most powerful man in boxing today. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Haymon may not have absolute power in boxing but he is not very far from it. Both Santa Cruz and Rigondeaux are undefeated and recognized as the best super-bantamweights in the world today. This would have been a fight for the ages. If Haymon continues to prevent great (title unification) fights such as Santa Cruz versus Rigondeaux from happening, then he will be judged harshly by both fight fans and boxing history.