By Elliot Foster

Carl Frampton picked up a split decision in the super bantamweight world title unification showdown against Scott Quigg.

The Ulsterman, 29, had the majority of the support at the Manchester Arena as he added the WBA Super title to his IBF crown, exclusively live on Sky Sports Box Office.

Frampton (22-0, 14 KOs) bossed the first two-thirds of the fight, getting enough rounds in the bank before Quigg, who suffered defeat for the first time in the paid game as he slipped to 31-1-2 (23 KOs), came on strong and arguably won the championship stanzas with looking to claw back the deficit.

Quigg was gracious in defeat, following the judges’ scorecards being read out at the end of the contest, but revealed that he has broken his jaw in the fourth round after being caught with an uppercut.

The judges –– Carlos Sucre and Dave Parris –– gave the fight to Frampton by four rounds with margins of 116-112, while Levi Martinez inexplicably gave it to the Bury man, unveiling a scorecard of 113-115.

When the scorecards were read out, scenes of jubilation were sparked in the Arena as upwards of 10,000 Irish fans were ecstatic that their man had been victorious and the McGuigans –– who are a big part of Team Frampton –– became delirious.

But while there was celebration in one corner, there was despair in the other.

"He caught me with a good shot in the fourth and I think my jaw's gone," explained Quigg in the aftermath.

“I had to take [the next] round off to find out whether [the jaw] would be painful, but luckily it wasn’t and it was just numb, like I’d been to the dentist for an injection.”

Quigg knew that he was beaten by the better man on the night and conceded that.

He continued: “With the judges scorecards, I should've started faster but I wasn't getting hit clean. It's how the judges saw it and I won't discredit them.

“I want a rematch."

Frampton was all ears, too, with regards to getting the fight on again, but he was incredulous at the method of victory.

“I couldn't believe it was a split - I don't know what that lad was watching,” he told the press afterwards.

“As long as I got the hand at the end of the fight that is the main thing. I think he needs to have a good hard look at himself, the judge who gave it Quigg's way.

“I knew it was going to be a boring fight. We had to sell it but I knew I had the brain to do that and make it boring.

“We have a great rivalry. Of course we could do it again."