Carl Frampton

Carl Frampton
Frampton at Stormont in 2013
Statistics
Nickname(s)	The Jackal Brick Fists
Rated at	Super-bantamweight Featherweight
Height	5 ft 5 in (165 cm)
Reach	62 in (157 cm)
Born	21 February 1987 Tiger's Bay, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	22
Wins	22
Wins by KO	14
Losses	0
Medal record Representing  Ireland Men's amateur boxing EU Championships Dublin 2007 Featherweight

Carl Frampton MBE (born 21 February 1987) is a professional boxer from Northern Ireland. He is a former unified IBF and WBA super-bantamweight champion.^[1]

Amateur career

Amateur boxing in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland is governed by the Irish Amateur Boxing Association. As an amateur, Frampton fought out of the Midland Boxing Club in Tiger's Bay and won the Irish senior flyweight title in 2005 and added the Irish featherweight title in 2009, beating David Oliver Joyce in the final.^[2]

He also claimed a silver medal at the 2007 European Union Amateur Boxing Championships in Dublin, losing to France's Khedafi Djelkhir in the final.^[3] Frampton is one of Ireland's most successful amateur boxers of recent years, winning over 100 of his fights and losing only 8 times.

Later commenting on his decision to box for the Irish team, Frampton, who grew up in a Unionist area of Belfast, said "I get asked all the time, 'would you have liked to have boxed for Great Britain?' And the answer is 'no'. I was looked after by Irish boxing from pretty much 11 years old and was very proud to box for Ireland." He added, "it's very humbling to know that so many people are supporting me from all over Ireland and mainland UK." ^[4]

Professional career

Early career

Frampton turned professional after his victory in the 2009 Irish featherweight finals. In June 2009, fought his first professional fight at the Olympia, Liverpool, in England and beat Sandor Szinavel with a second-round knock-out on a card that included Grzegorz Proksa and Ajose Olusegan. In January 2010, he was named Ireland's Prospect of the Year at the Irish National Boxing Awards. In September 2010 he recorded an "electrifying" win over the Ukrainian Yuri Voronin in front of an Ulster Hall crowd which included Daniel Day-Lewis. The win led the Belfast Telegraph to liken him to a "reincarnation" of Barry McGuigan.^[5]

In December 2010, Frampton won his first professional title, the BBBofC Celtic Super Bantamweight title, with a second-round TKO win over Scottish boxer Gavin Reid in the Ulster Hall.^[6][7] Following his victory, Frampton described the Super Bantamweight division as being "super-hot" and named Scott Quigg and Rendall Munroe as potential opponents. He then went on to get a fourth-round TKO win over Venezuelan Oscar Chacin, and later fought his first defence of his BBBofC Celtic title against Welshman Robbie Turley in June 2011, winning by a unanimous decision after ten rounds.

Commonwealth and Inter-Continental champion

Carl fought Australian Mark Quon as a replacement for Kiko Martinez on 10 September for the Commonwealth Super Bantamweight title at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast winning by a fourth-round TKO stoppage.^[8] On 28 January 2012, he successfully defended his Commonwealth title against Kris Hughes in the York Hall, with the fight having to be stopped in the seventh round. According to the BBC, Frampton controlled the contest from the start and was never threatened by his opponent.^[9] On 17 March 2012, Frampton once again defended his title against Ghana's Prosper Ankrah and won by a second-round TKO stoppage. After his victory Frampton challenged the British Champion Scott Quigg saying that "I don't know if he wants it but, if he does, he should tell his promoter".^[10]

Frampton then beat fellow unbeaten contender Raúl Hirales, Jr. (previously 16-0, 8 KO's) of Mexico by a unanimous decision and won the vacant IBF Inter-continental Super Bantamweight title on the undercard of Carl Froch vs. Lucian Bute in Nottingham, UK. The fight took place on 26 May 2012. On 22 September 2012, Frampton took on former two-time world champion Steve Molitor. The fight took place in the Odyssey Arena in Belfast on a card that included Martin Lindsay and Paul McCloskey. Frampton scored an impressive sixth-round TKO and had the former champion on the canvas three times during the bout. After the fight, Frampton announced that he was willing to "fight anyone" and that he was "ready for a world title fight".^[11]

European champion

On 9 February 2013, Carl Frampton faced hard-punching Spaniard Kiko Martinez in front of 8,000 of his home fans in the Odyssey Arena in Belfast. Martinez, the European Champion, had previously knocked out Bernard Dunne in 86 seconds^[12] to win the title and had never been knocked down. Frampton won by TKO in Round 9, winning the European Super Bantamweight title and retaining the IBF Inter-Continental Super Bantamweight title. After the fight Frampton said "I just want the people of Belfast to be proud of me," and described his beaten opponent as "hard as nails".^[13] In August 2014, Martinez won the IBF title with a sixth-round stoppage of the previously unbeaten Colombian Jonatan Romero.

On 19 October 2013, Frampton defended his EBU and IBF Inter-Continental titles in an IBF World Title Eliminator against IBF #4 ranked Jeremy Parodi. The fight took place in front of a maximum capacity 9,000 fans at the Odyssey Arena, Belfast. Frampton knocked Parodi out with a body shot at the end of the sixth round.^[14] On 4 April 2014 Frampton faced the Mexican Hugo Cazares at the Odyssey Arena in a final eliminator for Leo Santa Cruz's WBC Super Bantamweight World Championship. In front of a sold-out crowd of 9,000 Frampton knocked out Cazares in the 2nd Round, with a left hook to the head.^[15]

World champion

Frampton challenged for his first world title on 6 September 2014 in a rematch against Kiko Martinez. Martinez's IBF Super Bantamweight title was at stake and the bout took place in an outdoor arena at the Titanic Quarter in Belfast.^[16] In the build-up to the fight, Frampton said of Martinez: "He's very emotional and that's what makes him dangerous... he's a hot-head, he can be very easily agitated but he's coming to win".^[17] Fighting in front of a crowd of 16,000 Frampton knocked Martinez down in the fifth round and won by unanimous decision, with two scores of 119-108 and one score of 118-111, winning his first world title. Interviewed after the fight Frampton said "I've got the world title. I feel a bit emotional - it has been a long time coming, it has been a hard road. I intend to hang on to it for a very long time."^[18] He went on to call for a unification fight with the WBA champion Scott Quigg, saying "I'll fight him in Manchester, I'll fight him anywhere".^[19] After the fight, Barry McGuigan said of his protege "This kid could end up as the best Irish fighter there has ever been."^[20]

As result of his performances Frampton was nominated for the 2014 RTE Sports Person of the Year. In 2015 he was named Britain's Coolest Man by ZOO Magazine beating the likes of David Beckham, Tom Hardy and Ed Sheeran to get the award. Frampton said after receiving the award, "I couldn’t believe it when they told me, I thought it was a wind-up! But it's great, especially as it's ZOO readers and the people of Britain who have voted for me. It's also great for the sport of boxing."^[21]

Frampton was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to boxing.^[22]

Unified champion and demotion

On 27 February 2016 Frampton fought his long awaited opponent WBA super-bantamweight champion Scott Quigg in front of a sell out crowd in Manchester. In a close fight, Frampton won by split decision with the judges scoring the fight 113-115, 116-112, 116-112.^[23]

In March 2016, several press releases announced that Frampton did not intend to face Rigondeaux in his next bout. On March 11, 2016, the WBA wrote to Frampton inquiring whether the press releases were accurate and requested he confirm his intentions on or before March 18, 2016. The WBA received no response. Additionally, Rigondeaux's representatives were not approached by anyone on Frampton's behalf to negotiate a bout. "In light of Frampton’s announced intention to face an opponent other than his mandatory," says WBA Championships Chairman Gilberto Jesus Mendoza, "and for failing to respond to WBA inquiries as to his intent, Frampton’s recognition as Champion is removed."

Featherweight

Frampton vs. Santa Cruz

Frampton is scheduled to fight Léo Santa Cruz (32-0-1, 22 KO's) for the WBA (Super) Featherweight title at the Barclays Centre in New York City on July 30, 2016. ^[24]

Legacy

Coming from Belfast, a city known for its troubled history, Frampton wants to be remembered like Barry McGuigan, his manager who was seen as a symbol of peace during his fighting days. Despite being from the Republic, it was Northern Ireland where McGuigan's fights had most significance, unifying the people there despite the religious and political differences that existed between them.^[25]

“This kid could end up being the best Irish fighter who ever lived”

- Barry McGuigan, speaking after Martinez II.^[26]

“I want to be a legend,” Frampton said in 2015. “Honestly, that’s what I want to be, a legend in Irish sport. I think it’s coming up to 30 years since Barry won his world title in Loftus Road against Pedroza and people are still talking about it. I want to be like that 30 years from now - people are talking about my fights with guys like Chris Avalos and Kiko Martinez in the pubs all over Ireland. That’s what I intend to do. I want to create a legacy. I want to keep beating big names. I want to get big fights, bring them back to Belfast as much as possible, and keep winning.”^[27] Speaking to the BBC, McGuigan said "Carl is doing what I did. He's a beacon for peace and reconciliation and represents the future of Northern Ireland."^[28] In 2014 he claimed Frampton "could end up as the best Irish fighter there has ever been. He can go to featherweight and super-featherweight. I don't know who the greatest Irish fighter is but if he gets the right fights he can really go as far as he wants to go."^[29] As a fighter, McGuigan was known for wearing a Dove on his shorts, as a representation of peace. He also had no national anthem played at his fights, he took up dual Irish-British citizenship which allowed him to fight for British Domestic titles, and he married a Catholic woman, all of which had huge significance at the time.^[30] It is hard to not draw comparisons, with Frampton following down an almost identical path. He too has even married a Catholic woman despite being Protestant, and he too has a large following of die-hard fans from both Catholic and Protestant backgrounds, who attend his fights in their thousands and leave their differences at home for a night. As of 2015, he is already a living legend in his home of Tiger's Bay and Belfast.^[31]

Professional boxing record

Titles in boxing

References

1. Boxrec. "Carl Frampton". Boxrec Fighter Page. Retrieved 1 March 2010.Boxrec Fighter Page
2. Gunning, Leonard. "Carl Frampton Gets Approval From Barry McGuigan". Boxing-Ireland.com. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
3. "European Union Championships - Dublin, Ireland". EABA. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
4. Dirs, Ben. "Carl Frampton: The boxer following where McGuigan dared to tread". BBC Sport.
5. "Carl Frampton is fighter with star appeal". Belfast Telegraph. 20 September 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
6. "Carl Frampton secures second-round win over Gavin Reid". BBC Sport. 3 December 2010. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
7. "Frampton claims Celtic title". Belfast Newsletter. 3 December 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
8. "Frampton secures Martinez contest". BBC Sport.
9. "Carl Frampton beats Kris Hughes in Commonwealth title defence". BBC Sport. 28 January 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
10. "Carl Frampton stops Prosper Ankrah to retain Commonwealth title". BBC Sport. 18 March 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
11. "Carl Frampton in impressive sixth-round win over Steve Molitor". BBC Sport. 22 September 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
12. "Dunne loses title in first round". RTÉ Sport. 26 August 2007.
13. "Carl Frampton stops Kiko Martinez to win European title". BBC Sport. 9 February 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
14. "Carl Frampton stops Jeremy Parodi in sixth round". BBC Sport. 19 October 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
15. "Carl Frampton beats Hugo Cazares in two rounds". BBC Sport. 4 April 2014. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
16. "Titanic Quarter named as venue for Frampton fight". BBC Sport. 1 July 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
17. Dirs, Ben. "Carl Frampton v Kiko Martinez: IBF super-bantamweight title fight". BBC Sport.
18. "Carl Frampton beats Kiko Martinez to become IBF world champion". BBC Sport. 6 September 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
19. "Carl Frampton: World champion wants Scott Quigg fight". BBC Sport.
20. "Carl Frampton can be best ever Irish boxer, says manager Barry McGuigan". Belfast Telegraph.
21. http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/carl-frampton-named-britains-coolest-man-2015-by-zoo-magazine-31196744.html
22. The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 61450. p. N19. 30 December 2015.
23. "Carl Frampton beats Scott Quigg on points in IBF and WBA title fight". BBC. Manchester. 28 February 2016.
24. "Carl Frampton's world title fight with Leo Santa Cruz on 30 July". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
25. "Frampton following in McGuigan's footsteps as Ireland's next unifying force". Daily Mail. 21 September 2012.
26. "Carl Frampton can become "the best Irish fighter who ever lived", says Barry McGuigan". Telegraph. 7 September 2014.
27. "‘I want to be a legend in Irish sport’: Carl Frampton is ready to take over your television". The42. 27 February 2015.
28. "Carl Frampton: The boxer following where McGuigan dared to tread". BBC. 3 September 2014.
29. "Carl Frampton can be best ever Irish boxer, says manager Barry McGuigan". Belfast Telegraph. 8 September 2014.
30. "When Barry McGuigan ruled the boxing world - 30 years on". BBC. 8 June 2015.
31. "Two very divided areas left feeling proud as punch of Tigers Bay fighter Carl Frampton". Belfast Telegraph. 22 October 2013.
32. Carl Frampton's Professional Boxing Record. BoxRec.com. Retrieved on 27 August 2011.