Carl Frampton needs to go back to the drawing board if he wants to regain his WBC world title belt from Leo Santa Cruz, following Saturday night’s defeat in Las Vegas.
That’s the opinion of former Olympic silver medallist Ken Egan, who felt that the Belfast fighter was not himself in the points defeat to Mexican Santa Cruz on Saturday night.
Egan believes that something went awry with the Tigers Bay fighter in the build-up to the MGM Grand contest, and that Frampton, who lost for the first time as a professional boxer, now needs to analyse everything that happened before, during and after the fight.
The featherweight world title bout was the second time the two fighters traded leather within the last six months and all indications are that the two will dance again to create a boxing trilogy, following two exciting bouts where each fighter recorded one win each.
Egan believed that the writing was on the wall as early as the second round when Santa Cruz fought in a much more defensive style than is his custom and as a result, Frampton was unable to score as freely as he did in that first bout in New York last July.
“Right from the first bell, he wasn’t himself,” said Egan, speaking on 2fm’s Game On. “I don’t know what happened before the fight or in the training camp, but he wasn’t his relaxed self.
“In the first and second round when Frampton’s tactics did not work, Santa Cruz was on the back foot and spent most of the first two rounds with his back against the ropes and he was picking Carl off."
But while Egan believed that Frampton was not himself, the former Irish light-heavyweight amateur champion was full of praise for Santa Cruz, who got his tactics spot on and showed tremendous discipline to change his style in order to win the fight.
“Everyone was expecting a toe-to-toe, because Santa Cruz doesn’t know anything else, “ said Egan.
“Santa Cruz’s jab was perfect on the night, the double jab in Carl’s face all the time, keeping him at bay, keeping him out, keeping him long and that kept Carl away.
"It just shows a great amount of discipline on his part because he changed his whole fight plan to beat Carl."
Egan still had time to praise the former champion, who showed glimpses of the world class fighter that he has evolved into en route to becoming a two-weight world champion.
“At times, Carl was boxing brilliantly, he was closing the gap and getting that bit closer and attacking.
“But then after his attacks, he was coming back in straight lines and Santa Cruz was picking him off on the counter and Carl’s head was just going back and he had his hands down around his ankles.
“It’s too risky when you have a great attack and score a couple of points and you’re doing well and then waste it all by getting clipped on the way out. It’s a waste of energy and a waste of time.
“But Carl was attacking from too far out. It’s only a matter of inches. If Carl had feinted his way in, just that little bit closer, and then attacked...
“He was looking for big bombs and missing by a country mile, and this shouldn’t happen.”
And while Frampton’s coach Shane McGuigan received some criticism after the fight, primarily, it must be said, on social media, Egan does believe that certain tactics backfired, most notably when the Belfast man looked like he was getting some joy in the seventh and eighth rounds.
“After round eight, I thought that he had won the round,” said Egan. “But Shane told him that he lost the round and that is the last thing that you want to be telling [a boxer] especially after his slow start.
“Whether it was a bit of reverse psychology or not, if your fighter has had a good round, you tell him that he has had a good round to give him that push.”
Egan also believes that the fighter-coach partnership will continue, considering the history between McGuigan and Frampton, however, he feels that it is imperative that Frampton conducts a thorough post mortem on his first ever professional defeat.
“It is totally up to Carl. He needs to sit down and analyse what happened before the fight, the fight itself and after the fight.
“If he needs a new coach, he is the man to say it. If he believes in Shane, and he probably does, as they have come all this way together, they should stick together and work on a new plan.”
And does Egan believe that Frampton can work out the tactics needed to secure the victory in the, perhaps, final instalment of this most intriguing battle of styles at the top of the featherweight division?
“If this trilogy is going to happen and if they get Santa Cruz to Belfast, do I think Carl will beat him again? I’m not sure, they need a serious game plan.
“If it goes the way it went on Saturday, and Santa Cruz goes on the back foot, then Carl needs to be all over him like a cheap suit and just stick to him like crazy glue.
“If he gives him any space, Santa Cruz will just pick him off again with that jab.”
