Santa Cruz gets spot on Mayweather-Pacquiao undercard

Before Leo Santa Cruz defeated Jesus Ruiz on Jan. 17, there was talk of putting him on the pay-per-view undercard of the May 2 megafight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao.

Santa Cruz said then it would be an honor to be part of boxing’s biggest night in decades. At the time, though, the welterweight unification title fight still was being negotiated, so anything involving Santa Cruz was pure speculation.

The megafight eventually got made, and Mayweather Promotions announced that Santa Cruz, the World Boxing Council super bantamweight champion, will fight on the pay-per-view portion of the undercard at the MGM Grand Garden.

According to Boxrec.com, Santa Cruz (29-0-1, 17 knockouts) will face Hungary’s Zsolt Bedak (24-1, eight KOs), the World Boxing Organization European super bantamweight champion. Mayweather Promotions has not confirmed the matchup.

“It’s so exciting to be fighting on a card of this magnitude,” Santa Cruz said Tuesday at Mayweather’s gym. “To be fighting on Cinco de Mayo weekend is important for me and for my fans, and I hope to give them a good performance they can be proud of.”

Santa Cruz often has said he would love to face Abner Mares, and that fight could come to fruition this fall. But for now, Santa Cruz will settle for undercard status on Mayweather-Pacquiao, which is expected to break the pay-per-view record for buys. The record of 2.45 million was set in 2007 when Mayweather fought Oscar De La Hoya.

“I’ve told Mares long before that I wanted to fight him, but he ignored me,” Santa Cruz said. “I don’t think he knew who I was. But he said a few weeks ago that he would fight me, so let’s do it and give the fans a great fight.”

Santa Cruz admits he’s taking a risk by fighting someone other than Mares. A loss probably would scrub any chance of the two fighting this fall. But given Santa Cruz’s record and high skill level, it’s unlikely he will lose to Bedak.

“There’s always a chance (you can lose),” Santa Cruz said. “Every fight is dangerous. But we always train hard to make sure that doesn’t happen, and we’ll be 100 percent ready on May 2.”

In the other pay-per-view undercard fight, controlled by Top Rank, Vasyl Lomachenko (3-1, one KO) will defend his WBO featherweight title against Gamalier Rodriguez (25-2-3, 17 KOs).

■ ISHE’S OPPONENT — Former junior middleweight champion Ishe Smith of Las Vegas has an opponent for an April 30 Mayweather Promotions card at the Palms’ Pearl Concert Theater.

Smith (26-7, 12 KOs) will face Cecil McCalla (20-1, seven KOs) in a 154-pound, 10-round main event aired by ESPN2.

In the co-feature, Ashley Theophane (37-6-1, 11 KOs) meets Mahonri Montes (29-4-1, 20 KOs) in a 10-round welterweight bout.

The first bell is scheduled for 4 p.m., with the televised portion of the card starting at 6.

■ HBO ROUND TABLE — As part of the Mayweather-Pacquiao hype leading up to May 2, HBO will air a round-table discussion on the fight at 9:15 p.m. Saturday.

“The Legends Speak” will feature George Foreman, Lennox Lewis and Bernard Hopkins. Jim Lampley and Max Kellerman will host the 30-minute show.

■ ROC NATION LICENSE — Roc Nation Sports, a new player in boxing promotions, is on the agenda for the Nevada Athletic Commission meeting Tuesday as it seeks a license to work in the state.

Roc Nation, run by rapper and entertainer Jay Z, recently signed WBC middleweight champion Miguel Cotto to its roster, which includes Andre Ward. Cotto’s first fight for Roc Nation will be against Daniel Geale on June 6 at Barclays Center in New York.

The company was on last month’s NAC meeting agenda before withdrawing its request.

■ BKB2 NUMBERS — The Big Knockout Boxing 2 card April 4 at Mandalay Bay sold 1,129 tickets. Another 959 were comped and 339 went unsold, according to NAC figures. The gate was $68,227.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.