Carl Frampton tops Leo Santa Cruz in New York to take WBA super featherweight title
Northern Irishman unanimously outpoints previously undefeated champion from Mexico on Saturday night to add the WBA super featherweight title to his super bantamweight crown
Challenger Carl Frampton defeated Mexico’s Leo Santa Cruz by a majority decision Saturday to claim the WBA featherweight crown and become the first boxer from Northern Ireland to win titles in two divisions.
The 29-year-old Frampton controlled the fight between the two undefeated boxers in the early rounds. He then held on for the win as Santa Cruz gained steam in the middle rounds before the two closed it out by exchanging punches in the middle of the ring as the final bell sounded.
Frampton, who was born in Belfast, improved to 23-0 with 14 knockouts as he had to overcome a height advantage after moving up to fight at a higher weight class.
One judge scored it even, 114-114, while the other two gave it to Frampton 117-111 and 116-112 in front of a crowd of about 8,000 at the Barclays Center arena.