Moments ago at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, Carl Frampton defeated the previously undefeated Leo Santa Cruz via majority decision, becoming a two-division world champion by capturing the WBA featherweight title. The fight was non-stop action for all 12 rounds as both men were willing to stand and trade in the center of the ring. Ultimately, it was Frampton's better counterpunching skills that allowed him to land the cleaner shots, even staggering the former champion at one point early in the fight. Relive all the action in FightHype's round-by-round results!
ROUND 1
Santa Cruz fires his jab. They trade on the inside. 1-2 gets in for Frampton. Nice left lands for Frampton. Double jab lands for Santa Cruz. They trade hooks. Good left lands for Santa Cruz. They trade jabs. Santa Cruz pressing forward. Frampton wings a right. 1-2 from Santa Cruz backs Frampton up. Left lands for Santa Cruz. Jab lands for Santa Cruz. Round to Santa Cruz.
Santa Cruz 10 Frampton 9
ROUND 2
Santa Cruz digs a right to the body. Left hook lands for Santa Cruz. Frampton fires back. They trade punches. Good body shot lands for Frampton. They trade on the inside again. Good uppercut lands for Santa Cruz. They trade on the inside yet again. 1-2 lands for Frampton. Right lands for Santa Cruz. They trade big rights. Frampton lands a right upstairs. BIG left hook lands for Frampton and Santa Cruz is rocked and staggers back. They trade shots again. Frampton lands some good shots. Santa Cruz fires back. HARD body shots lands for both. Frampton backs up. Great round. Round to Frampton.
Santa Cruz 19 Frampton 19
ROUND 3
Santa Cruz fires his jab. They trade jabs. Left hand lands for Frampton. Right down the middle lands for Santa Cruz. Left hook lands for Frampton. HARD uppercut lands for Frampton. 1-2 from Santa Cruz. Good combination from Frampton. They trade some shots. Good body shot lands for Frampton. Santa Cruz presses forward, but misses with the 1-2. Round to Frampton.
Santa Cruz 28 Frampton 29
ROUND 4
They trade jabs. Left hook upstairs for Santa Cruz while Frampton lands a left to the body. Double jab lands for Santa Cruz. Quick combo from Frampton. Right lands for Santa Cruz. Left to the body lands for Frampton. Right upstairs for Frampton. HARD left hook upstairs lands for Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz walking him down. Body shot lands for Frampton. Uppercut lands for Frampton. They trade in the center of the ring. HARD left lands for Frampton and Santa Cruz lands a hard counter of his own. Left hook at the bell for Frampton. Round to Frampton.
Santa Cruz 37 Frampton 39
ROUND 5
Quick right lands for Frampton. Santa Cruz gets in a left. Now Frampton coming forward. They trade jabs. Santa Cruz digs to the body. 1-2 from Frampton. Solid counter right lands for Frampton and stops Santa Cruz in his tracks. Left hook lands for Frampton. Another left and a right for Frampton. Round to Frampton.
Santa Cruz 46 Frampton 49
ROUND 6
Short right lands for Frampton. Quick left to the body lands for Frampton. Santa Cruz digs to the body, but he eats one in return from Frampton. They trade big shots on the inside. Both men slugging and scoring in the middle of the ring. Great stuff right now. Hard body shots land for Frampton. Santa Cruz still firing away. 1-2 lands for Frampton and he slips away. 1-2 lands for Santa Cruz. Good left lands for Santa Cruz followed by a hard right. Some body shots land for Santa Cruz. HARD right lands for Santa Cruz to close out the round. Close round and great round. I give it to Santa Cruz.
Santa Cruz 56 Frampton 58
ROUND 7
Frampton sticks him with a jab. Santa Cruz comes forward and chops away at the body. Frampton fires back, but the work rate of Santa Cruz continues. Hard right lands for Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz fires his jab as he looks to close the distance. Santa Cruz rakes him with a left. Right hand lands for Santa Cruz, but he eats a counter from Frampton. SOLID right lands for Frampton. They trade shots in the middle of the ring again. Another close round. I give it to Santa Cruz.
Santa Cruz 66 Frampton 67
ROUND 8
Frampton fires a left hook. Santa Cruz fires his own. They trade body shots on the inside. Chopping shots land for Frampton, but Santa Cruz outworking him. They trade hard left hooks to the body. Jab lands for Santa Cruz. HARD 1-2 lands for Frampton. Counter left hook lands for Frampton. Another left hook lands for Frampton. Solid right lands for Frampton to end the round. Round to Frampton.
Santa Cruz 75 Frampton 77
ROUND 9
Santa Cruz comes forward and fires to the body. Good left uppercut lands for Frampton. Right to the body lands for Frampton. Santa Cruz rushes in looking a little sloppy with his punches. Good counters land for Frampton. 1-2 from Santa Cruz, but he eats a hard counter. They trade right hands. Frampton shows some slick defense along the ropes. Round to Frampton.
Santa Cruz 84 Frampton 87
ROUND 10
Right down the middle from Santa Cruz falls short. Frampton comes forwrd. Good lefts land for Frampton. 1-2 lands for Santa Cruz. Uppercut lands for Santa Cruz. Good combination lands for Santa Cruz. Right hand lands for Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz boxing more now. They trade shots. Hard combination lands for Santa Cruz. Round to Santa Cruz.
Santa Cruz 94 Frampton 96
ROUND 11
Both men come out swinging. They trade body shots. They trade on the inside. HARD right hand lands for Santa Cruz and snaps the head back of Frampton. They trade in the middle. Both men swinging away at each other. Good left lands for Frampton, but Santa Cruz fires back. they trade again, but it's Santa Cruz who is ending the exchanges. Good left hook lands for Santa Cruz. HARD right lands for Santa Cruz. Frampton fires back. Good left lands for Frampton. Close round. I give it to Santa Cruz.
Santa Cruz 104 Frampton 105
ROUND 12
Right lands for Frampton. 1-2 lands for Frampton. Right lands for Santa Cruz. Uppercut lands for Santa Cruz. They trade on the inside. Santa Cruz continues to fire away. Good right lands for Santa Cruz. 1-2 lands for Frampton. They trade in the center of the ring. Leaping left hook lands for Frampton. They trade big shots. Quick combination from Frampton. The round is up for grabs with a minute left. 1-2 lands for Frampton. Both men flurry to the finish. They trade to the final bell. Another close round, but I give it to Frampton.
Santa Cruz 113 Frampton 115
Official judges scorecard: 114-114, 116-112, 117-111
THE WINNER BY MAJORITY DECISION...AND NEW WBA FEATHERWEIGHT CHAMPION...CARL FRAMPTON
POST-FIGHT QUOTES FROM BOTH FIGHTERS
CARL FRAMPTON:
"It's a dream come true. I had the dream of winning a world title and I won it, but I never thought I'd win in two divisions. It was a tough fight, I wanted tit to be a tough fight because I wanted a fight the people could remember. I respect him a lot. He was a true warrior.
"I had a good game plan. Shane was an unbelievable coach. He told me every time I came back into the corner that we could win this a lot easier. But I won it with my heart, not with my head and I got my hand raised.
"Distance control and hitting hard. I won the fight because I didn't lose control. I earned his respect early in the fight with my distance control and hard punching. I would love to take this man to Belfast for a rematch and show the people there what a great fighter he is."
On calling out the other champions at 126 pounds, Frampton said: "I want big, memorable fights."
LEO SANTA CRUZ:
"It was a tough fight from the beginning. We knew it was going to be a tough fight, but I thought it was close when I'm in there throwing. Maybe the judges were hearing the crowd and thought that every little punch was scoring.
"He has a difficult style, but we know his style and get him in the rematch. The crowd was cheering, and I think the judges saw that. And maybe, without that, we would have had a draw or maybe a decision.
"It's hard to get your first loss, but now we'll go back to the gym, we'll get the rematch and we'll win. And that loss will mean nothing. I want to have a rematch in Los Angeles, but I'll go to Belfast too.
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