Leo Santa Cruz vs Miguel Flores Odds & Picks
- Cruz vs Flores goes Saturday, November 23rd at 8:00 PM ET
- Can Cruz become a champion in yet another weight division?
- Can the largely unheralded Flores shock the Boxing world as a 16-1 underdog?
Cruz vs Flores is a hotly discussed fight for reasons both positive and negative. The vacant WBA world super featherweight belt is on the line between the two. This bout is the co-feature for the rematch between WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder and Luis Ortiz.
Cruz is looking for championship gold in a fourth weight class and the slepton Flores is looking tout Cruz to sleep. My analysis of this fight and the odds for this bout can be found by scrolling below.
Cruz vs Flores Odds
| Fighter | Odds |
|---|---|
| Leo Santa Cruz | -10000 |
| Miguel Flores | +1600 |
Odds taken Nov. 19th.
Leo Santa Cruz is a three-weight world champion and is looking to become a titlist in a fourth division. Despite this, there is some rhetoric among boxing fans and pundits that Santa Cruz isn’t interested in taking risky fights anymore. For many people’s money, the last risky fight he ook was when he rematched Carl Frampton in 2017.
Flores has lost two of his last three fights so he too is another curious opponent for Cruz. Flores is strangely ranked #2 by the WBA despite the losses and his only wins coming against journeyman, club circuit fighters. I have to go with Cruz here.
Cruz Becomes a Four-Division Champ
The fight was initially supposed to happen between these two in February. An ankle injury to Flores left him unable to fight and caused a delay in this prizefight coming to fruition. The fight wasn’t met with any level of fanfare and actually seemed to irritate fans more than anything.
Despite this, promoters are determined to put on this Cruz vs Flores fight. Flores is a capably talented fighter and has overcome tremendous hardship in his past to get to where he’s at. The respective resumes of both men translate a vastly different strength of schedule between the pugilists though.
How do you beat @leosantacruz2? ?@abnermares and @showtimeshawnP break down just how @El_Michoacano2 might attack Leo Santa Cruz on November 23. #SantaCruzFlores | Order the PPV ➡️ https://t.co/DghPiOtug6 pic.twitter.com/0QYziF2c70
— FOX Sports: PBC (@PBConFOX) November 15, 2019
Santa Cruz has addressed media sentiments and has said that he does not see Flores as a cherry-picked fight. Cruz is confident in his preparations and is readying himself for the toughest possible opponent imaginable. The truth of the matter though is that Santa Cruz is taking on a fighter who isn’t even ranked in the top 100 according to BoxRec.
Flores seems aware of all of these perceptions and is looking to go out on his shield if he has to. He seems to see opportunities to land devastating body shots on Santa Cruz. It’s just a matter of if he has the technique, speed, and power to exploit these weaknesses he purportedly sees.
Cruz vs Flores Tale of the Tape
| 36-1-1 | Record | 24-2 |
| 19 | Knockouts | 12 |
| 5’7.5 | Height | 5’8 |
| 69″ | Reach | 69″ |
| Carl Frampton, Alexander Muñoz, César Seda | Significant Wins | Mario Briones, Alfred Tetteh, Germán Meraz |
| orthodox | Stance | orthodox |
Flores has some holes defensively that I think Cruz can eventually exploit. A tendency to drop his hands during certain exchanges can likely result in a fighter like Cruz picking him apart. Cruz has said prior to this fight that he is looking for the knockout and if that does take place, I see it going down inside of nine rounds.
In all likelihood though, I see Cruz securing a unanimous decision victory. Putting on a clinic in the sweet science over the course of the twelve round contest.
Pick: Leo Santa Cruz (-10000)
A part-time writer and full-time broadcaster, Dylan has hosted MMA talk shows Lights Out and Pure Fight Radio with featured guests like Jens Pulver, Roy Nelson, Miesha Tate, and covered some of the biggest MMA promotions like Rumble in the Cage, Unified MMA, and King of the Cage.
