By Luis Sandoval

Leo Santa Cruz makes his return to the ring after a dominant performance against Eric Morel this past September as he will be taking on Victor Zaleta at the Staples Center on the undercard of the Abner Mares-Anselmo Moreno bout later tonight.

His fight may actually end up being an audition for the winner of the main event as Santa Cruz is looking for bigger name fights. Even though he is currently campaigning at 118 pounds, a move up to 122 may be around the corner for him.

“Probably this is going to be my last [fight] or probably one more fight at 118. I don’t have trouble making this weight. I feel good, I feel strong. The only reason I would want to move up in weight is because I would want to fight the bigger fighters. I want to fight the best” Santa Cruz would tell BoxingScene.

“Right now at 118, there are still some good fighters but the [fighters] that are better and more up there is guys like Nonito [Donaire], Anselmo [Moreno] and bigger names like [Abner] Mares. So that’s why we would want to move up in weight to fight the best because you have to beat the best to be the best and that’s what I want to do”.

Santa Cruz has captivated a lot of boxing fans with his relentless and crowd pleasing style. He appears to have an endless amount of energy but more importantly, he has some true skill behind it all. A fight with him and the winner of Mares-Moreno is something he’d definitely welcome.

“I would like to fight the winner because it would be a really, really good fight and exciting for the fans. So I would like the winner” said Santa Cruz.

It’s been a great year so far for Santa Cruz as he captured his first world title and has fought on major fight cards and garnered great exposure. He looks to end 2012 with a dominant victory with even bigger things to come in 2013.

You can follow Luis Sandoval on Twitter @Truewest007. You can also tune in to The Boxing Lab, Boxingscene’s official audio show every Tuesday from 6-8PM PST with hosts Ernest Gabion, Luis Sandoval, and Ryan Burton.