Photo by Kelvin Boyes
Carl Frampton (19-0, 13 KOs) dug deep through 12 rounds of a Super Bantamweight fight to take the IBF crown from Kiko Martinez (31-5, 23 KOs) in front of 16,000 fans at the Titanic Quarter in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.
The fight was the main event of a card presented by Cyclone Promotions and Maravilla Box Promotions.
After an exciting first fight in February of 2013 in which Frampton knocked out Martinez in the ninth round, Martinez spent the following year earning the IBF title and winning four fights in a row.
For some, it seemed, Martinez might have gained some confidence from the four-win streak and might have learned something to present Frampton with a different challenge in their rematch.
However, despite not ending in a knockout, Frampton looked spectacular, outboxing the 28-year-old Spaniard in nearly every round, landing jabs, using his feet and scoring hard combinations.
It was, to the trained eye, a wonderful performance against a tough, hard-hitting power puncher.
“I’m immensely proud of him. He’s twice the fighter I was,” said Barry McGuigan, Frampton’s manager.
In round four, Martinez was cut above his left eye due to an accidental head-butt, but it did not stop him from continuing his relentless aggression, doing his best to close the distance against Frampton.
Unfortunately for Martinez, Frampton was too elusive and Martinez’s punches were sometimes too wide as he was dropped by a powerful counter right hand after missing a wild left hook.
Photo by Press Association/PA
By round eight, it seemed as if Frampton were slowing down as he was forced to fight at close range by Martinez, who landed powerful shots to the body.
Despite slowing down a bit to the bodywork of an unrelenting Martinez, Frampton would go on to land powerful flurries in rounds 11 and 12, nearly closing the show before the final bell.
The judges scored the bout 119-108,119-108, and 118-111 for the 27-year-old native of Belfast, who has possible fights with Scott Quigg, Leo Santa Cruz and even Abner Mares in his horizon.
The fight with Quigg, however, is the fight Frampton wants the most.
“There’s so many options, the only man I really want to fight is Scott Quigg. What Eddie Hearn [Quigg’s promoter] needs to know is that I’m the one with a legitimate belt,” Frampton stated, touching on an apparent animosity between the two teams.
“I’ll fight him in Machester. I’ll fight him anywhere. But we have options.” Frampton concluded.
Header photo by Matt Mackey
