Frampton v Santa Cruz: Where the money has gone so far

He may have won this clash by a majority decision last year in New York, but Carl Frampton will have to do it all again in his first WBA super world featherweight title defence – against the man who he took the belt from last July, Leo Santa Cruz.

Undoubtedly the biggest boxing fight of the year to date, the Northern Irishman heads to Las Vegas as the 8/11 favourite. And victory over El Terremoto would certainly go a long way towards cementing his legacy in the USA.

He’d join an exclusive group of British boxers to win three fights on American soil if he defeats the 28-year-old this weekend. And as things stand, it’s the boy from Belfast who’s being backed in by punters.

In fact, a staggering 96 per cent of total stakes taken so far have been on Frampton.

We’re not writing off Santa Cruz though, and at 6/5, there’s every chance he could reclaim his belt.

And if the Mexican is to defeat Frampton, the majority of punters reckon it’ll be by KO, TKO or Disqualification at 4/1.

Meanwhile, it’s 7/2 for the Brit to win by that method – something he’s done on 14 previous occasions in his professional career – or in 60.87 per cent of his previous bouts.

He’ll have his work cut out though if he’s to win by KO at the MGM Grand. Santa Cruz has tasted defeat only once in his career – that being against Frampton by points.

It’s no surprise to see that method as the most backed, with 62.5 per cent of all bets at the time of writing being placed on the title holder to win by decision or technical decision again.

But Santa Cruz certainly won’t panic should the fight go all the way, having gone the distance on 14 previous occasions in his 11-year professional career.

And while judges Frank Lombardi and Tom Schreck scored the last bout 112-116 and 111-117 in Frampton’s favour, Guido Cavalleri couldn’t split the pair at 114-114.

And a draw in this weekend’s rematch has been priced at 20/1, but punters have jumped on those odds, given how close the pair were in several rounds last time they met.

Keep your eyes peeled for our full Frampton v Sana Cruz betting preview later on this week, and you can click here for a full list of boxing odds and specials.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing