“Fighting Words” - The Night Carl Frampton Made His Name

by David P. Greisman

Carl Frampton was already a known commodity. In the United Kingdom, where boxers are able to build audiences much earlier in their careers than in the United States, he went from being merely included on cards to being featured on them to being in the spotlight or the main event.

He was already a star, a headliner in the Northern Ireland capital of Belfast as he transitioned from contender to titleholder. He had one world title in the junior featherweight division, and then he had two. He had fans who would support him at home and fans who would support him by traveling abroad.

Frampton’s win over Leo Santa Cruz this past Saturday can’t be described as his arrival, then. He was already here. But the victory over Santa Cruz means he has now ascended, or perhaps transcended. It was the night that Carl Frampton truly made his name.

Santa Cruz was Frampton’s biggest challenge yet, figuratively as well as physically. Frampton had been at junior featherweight for the past several years. Santa Cruz, too, had been at 122 before, and at 118 before that, and had moved up to the 126-pound division last year and claimed a world title.

“This will be the hardest fight Carl’s ever had. Santa Cruz will test him like nobody else has ever tested him in every single department,” said Frampton’s promoter, the former featherweight champion Barry McGuigan, whose comments the day before the Santa Cruz bout could perhaps be discounted as helping to market the fight but otherwise could be construed as fair analysis.

McGuigan complimented Santa Cruz’s aggression, his activity rate, his technique, his bravery and his ability to take a punch, all of which may go hand in hand. Despite that scouting report, McGuigan was optimistic of Frampton’s chances.

“He will come through it,” McGuigan said. “He will win, and he will win emphatically.”

That’s along the lines of what a promoter should say. And he turned out to be right.

Frampton came in with the intent of neutering Santa Cruz’s aggression, limiting his activity rate, outdoing his technique, and testing his bravery and ability to take a shot. A fighter who comes forward as Santa Cruz does likes to pressure his opponent, closing the gap between him and his opponent so that punches may land in volume.

Frampton’s feet were fast enough that he was able to remain just out of range as Santa Cruz approached. He wanted to be out, and then in to land. He wanted to be in to land, and then out again. The more he made Santa Cruz miss, and the more he was successful himself at hitting Santa Cruz, the more he could try to get Santa Cruz either to walk into counters or slow down to a more manageable level of offense.

“The game plan was distance control, but to hit him hard and make him get my respect from the start,” Frampton said afterward. “I think I hurt him in the second round. Although he was throwing a lot of punches, he wasn’t throwing as much as he normally throws. I said that the whole time, once I nail him, the output wasn’t going to be as great. Distance control and punching hard, that was mainly the game plan, and fight when I had to fight.”

Except Santa Cruz’s volume wasn’t going to be muted. He threw a lot, even as he missed a lot, because Santa Cruz believed he could still break Frampton down, for if he could land a few shots, those shots would lead to more, as any time Santa Cruz landed Frampton wanted to respond. He hoped Frampton could play into his hands.

“I could’ve made it easier,” Frampton said afterward. “But I fought with my heart sometimes rather than my head.”

That was actually all the better for Frampton, who showed good skill and strategy in his decision to box while also performing for the crowd, given the notion that prizefighting means going beyond the basic axiom that boxing is about hitting and not getting hit.

Frampton had gotten a good win earlier in the year when he defeated Scott Quigg by split decision, unifying world titles at junior featherweight. It was a highly anticipated collision between two undefeated British 122-pounders. It just wasn’t good action until much too late in the fight.

McGuigan said that was partly Quigg’s fault, but also partly by design.

“He wouldn’t take it to Carl. Carl boxed the ears off him, and we knew it was going to be a tactical fight,” McGuigan said. We couldn’t say that as far as the pay-per-view potential; customers were going to be concerned. We said it was going to be a great fight. We knew in our hearts it was going to be a tactical fight.”

Take part in too many fights that are aesthetically displeasing and fans will associate you with that lack of excitement, if they think of you at all. Frampton and his team knew Santa Cruz would be willing to press the action. If Frampton could enact their plan, then he would not only leave with a good win, but pick up that good win in a good show.

“I hope it was an exciting fight,” Frampton said afterward. “It felt like it was an exciting fight.”

The judges also appreciated what Frampton was doing. While one judge had it a draw at 114-114, the two other judges saw Frampton getting the better of what was otherwise a competitive fight, winning 116-112 and 117-111.

They were fighting in New York City, already home to a sizable Irish population, and an accessible flight across the Atlantic for those coming in from the homeland. Enough had done that to make the weigh-in a lively occasion with singing and chanting, and the arena felt like Frampton had assumed the advantage in Santa Cruz’s own country. It was a home away from home for Frampton. Santa Cruz, who lives in California, was merely away from home.

Those Frampton faithful were so jubilant after their fighter’s victory that they were slow to leave Barclays Center, much to the dismay of the venue’s security, before heading into the night to continue the celebration.

Frampton has now beaten one of the top 122-pounders and one of the top 126-pounders in the same year, putting him in consideration when Fighter of the Year voting takes place, even though 2016 still has another five months remaining. So much can happen still. Kell Brook could upset Gennady Golovkin. The November fight between Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward will, barring a draw, have one of the best fighters in the world, pound-for-pound, topping another.

This can’t be described as an arrival. Carl Frampton was already here. But this year is the beginning of a next phase, of taking on the biggest names in the entire sport.

His first title win in 2014 at junior featherweight came against Kiko Martinez, a victory over someone he’d already beaten once before. He defended against an overmatched Chris Avalos and had to rise from two surprising knockdowns to beat Alejandro Gonzalez Jr. last year. By then, making 122 was beginning to affect Frampton, yet he remained in the division because he had the title and wanted the big fight with Quigg.

Now he’s moved up and won, and now there can be bouts against fellow featherweight titleholders, including countryman Lee Selby or American boxer Gary Russell Jr. There will likely be a rematch with Santa Cruz as well.

He’s 29 and says he doesn’t plan to be in the sport much longer.

“I have two young kids and a wife at home. I want to be financially rewarded, because this is a short career,” Frampton said. “I’m 29. I have a few years left in me. I want to live a comfortable life after boxing.”

He’s fortunate that some, though not all of the most important fights are also among the most lucrative ones, especially since he is a star in Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom, has a network interested in featuring him in America and is capable of drawing a crowd on the East Coast of the United States. All of that will help his cause.

Carl Frampton has made his name. Now it’s time for him to establish his legacy.

“Fighting Words” appears every Monday on BoxingScene.com. Pick up a copy of David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide. Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com