by David P. Greisman

One way to beat an offensive fighter is with movement and good defense. But another way is to fight firepower with firepower — and that’s what Carl Frampton did while dominating Chris Avalos and then dispatching him with a fifth-round technical knockout.

The end came halfway through the round, with Avalos staggered on his feet, having taken a beating for much of the previous 90 seconds of the round, having taken hard shots earlier in the fight, facing the likelihood that he would take even more for at least the next 90 seconds if he could remain standing. The referee, Howard Foster, saw enough and jumped in.

Frampton’s accuracy and hand speed combined well with his in-and-out movement. He would dart forward when Avalos would begin to punch, landing right hands or one-two combinations. Sometimes he wouldn’t even wait for Avalos and would just lead, landing with little trouble.

“That was pretty easy,” Frampton said afterward. “Very easy.”

Avalos appeared to hurt his shoulder or arm in the second round, turning his back, though that didn’t preclude him from exchanging with both hands for the remainder of the bout. It did send a message to Frampton, though.

“He was very slow. And then when he turned his back, he wanted out and I knew that,” Frampton said. “

Frampton just needed to help Avalos find his way out.

So while Avalos was able to land a left hook in the third, Frampton responded with a left of his own, then two body shots. Soon he landed a good left hook counter. In the fourth, Avalos followed two jabs with a good right uppercut, but Frampton retorted with a left to the body and another to the head. Avalos later was about to throw when Frampton bolted in with a one-two. A clinch gave Avalos momentary respite.

It wouldn’t last long.

In the fifth, Frampton hurt Avalos early and had him on the ropes. Frampton pursued with punches, and Foster loomed all the while. Avalos leaned forward and attempted to grab Frampton, only to be pulled down to the canvas. Two minutes remained in the round. Frampton landed a right hand. Soon came a left hook lead. Frampton continued to potshot and overwhelm until the end came.

This was Frampton’s first defense of his International Boxing Federation world title he captured at junior featherweight from Kiko Martinez last September. He moved to 20-0 with 14 KOs, is among the top names at 122, and is a big star in his native Northern Ireland. Frampton has now fought there six straight times and for 11 bouts overall.

He is in a division where the other big names are:

- Guillermo Rigondeaux, the lineal champion and a master boxer seen by the other top names in his division as bringing far too much risk for far too little reward.

- Leo Santa Cruz, the WBC titleholder who is signed with powerful boxing adviser Al Haymon and likely moving toward a bout with featherweight stable-mate Abner Mares

- And Scott Quigg, who is from Bury, Lancashire in the United Kingdom, is 30-0-2 with 22 KOs and holds the WBA’s “regular” world title (Rigondeaux is the WBA’s “super” titleholder and also has the WBO belt).

Given geography and what’s possible to make, it’s no surprise that Quigg was in the Odyssey Arena and was brought to the ring during the post-fight interviews.

“I would love it. I think Scott wants it,” Frampton said while standing next to Quigg. “A summer showdown between the two of us. It’s a huge fight. Scott needs to remember who’s the real world champion.”

Frampton said he would be willing to leave Belfast “if I had to” and go to a different location, “maybe somewhere neutral.”

Said Quigg: “He draws a crowd in Belfast. We draw a crowd in Britain. Wherever. Wherever holds most.”

As for Avalos, this was the third loss for the 25-year-old Californian. He had entertained while coming up as a prospect, only to be out-boxed by Chris Martin in a split decision loss to 2010. Avalos then suffered defeat again in late 2011, when he put down future titleholder Jhonatan Romero in the opening round of their bout but wound up losing a split decision.

Avalos had won six in a row since then. He now will need to rebuild once more.

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