His first defence was rumoured to be against former two-time world champion Eric Morel (46–3, 23 KOs).
Josesito López on 15 September at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada. In August 2012, it was announced that Santa Cruz would make the first defence of his IBF title on the undercard of Saul Álvarez vs. Malinga was hurt numerous times during the fight, but kept coming forward. The fight started off with both boxers trying to out land each other, with Santa Cruz landing the cleaner and power shots. Two judges scored Santa Cruz the clear winner with scorecards of 120–108 and the third judge gave Malinga one round, scoring the fight 119–109. The bout was televised on a Showtime boxing card.
Santa Cruz beat Malinga via unanimous decision to win the IBF bantamweight title. The IBF title was left vacant when then-champion Abner Mares moved up in weight. The fight was slated for 2 June at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California. In April 2012, promoter Branco Milenkovic announced that a deal was set for Santa Cruz to fight South African boxer Vusi Malinga (20–3–1, 12 KOs) for the vacant IBF bantamweight title. In March 2011, Santa Cruz knocked out the veteran Stephane Jamoye to win the vacant WBC Youth bantamweight championship.
On 21 October 2010 Santa Cruz beat the veteran James Owens at the Martin's Valley Mansion in Cockeysville, Maryland. After drawing his second bout in January 2007 against Rodrigo Hernandez, Santa Cruz went on to win his next thirteen fights, with five coming by stoppage. Santa Cruz made his professional debut, at the age of 18 on 13 October 2006 against Mexican boxer Pedro Silva, winning the fight via knockout in round 2. Professional career Bantamweight Early years As an amateur, Santa Cruz compiled a record of 148 wins and 7 losses.
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