We all know Leo Santa Cruz as a 3 division world champion boxer. Tonight, he makes his 3rd defense of his WBA Super World Featherweight title. Initially scheduled to fight Miguel Flores, who pulled out of the match last month after suffering an ankle injury, tonight’s matchup is largely considered to be the nationally televised stepping stone to a unification fight against Gary Russel Jr., who holds the current WBC title. This will be Leo Santa Cruz’s first fight since his rematch with Abner Mares in June of last year, where he won by unanimous decision.
Rafael Rivera, who is 26-2, is no stranger to stepping into a fight at the last minute. You may remember Rivera from September 16, 2017, where he fought Joseph Diaz Jr. as the co-feature of the Canelo Alvarez vs Gennady Golovkin 1 undercard. Rafael Rivera lost this fight by unanimous decision, after stepping in with only 4 days to prepare after Jorge Lara was injured. The always game Rivera stepped in and fought a hard-fought battle with very little notice. This time, Rivera has had 4 weeks to prepare for Leo Santa Cruz.
But will it be enough? Leo Santa Cruz, who goes into the fight the -1600 favorite, is ranked by the WBN as the 15th best boxer pound for pound. When asked about being prepared for tonight’s fight, Rivera answered: “Like a good Mexican, I am always ready for war”.