Brooklyn saw boxing history.
Carl Frampton became the first native of Northern Ireland to become a two-division world champion, defeating Leo Santa Cruz in a majority decision and capturing the World Boxing Association featherweight world championship at Barclays Center on July 30. Frampton improved to 23–0 in the ring, barely missing a step — or a punch — after he moved up to 126 pounds to challenge Santa Cruz.
“It was a dream come true,” Frampton said. “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 it to be a tough fight, because I wanted a fight the people could remember.”
The fight — which was scored 114–114 draw, 116–112, and 117–111 — lived up to its out-of-ring expectations as the two fighters combined for 402 power shots. Frampton connected on 46 percent of his, quickly inflicting damage on Santa Cruz.
Santa Cruz had a definite height advantage on Frampton, but the former champ couldn’t use that reach against the Irish star, who easily countered his attempts.
“Distance control and hitting hard were the keys,” Frampton said. “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.”
Frampton was quick to look towards his next fight after lifting his latest belt, calling out other champions at 126 pounds —including International Boxing Federation champion Lee Selby and World Boxing Council champion Gary Russel, Jr. — as well as a rematch against Santa Cruz.
In addition to Frampton’s historic victory, Barclays Center hosted several hometown heroes on the jam-packed card.
Bensonhurst native Paulie Malignaggi (36–7, 7 knockouts) erased all memory of his disappointing showing in Brooklyn last August with a 10-round, unanimous decision over fellow Brooklynite Gabriel Bracero.
Malignaggi — who appeared ringside as a commentator for Showtime later in the night — dictated the pace from the get-go and landed 35 percent of his total punches. Bracero (24–3, 5 knockouts) connected on just 29 percent of his hits.
“I was just trying to be the sharper counter-puncher,” Malignaggi said. “I didn’t want to get desperate. I wanted to force him to get desperate from being behind on the scorecards. I think I did a good job of that. As the fight went on, I just used my movement and feints to stay in control.”
On the women’s side of the card, Amanda Serrano — who grew up in Bushwick — defended her World Boxing Organization featherweight world championship, making quick work of Colombia’s Calixta Sligado. The fight was the first women’s championship bout at Barclays Center and another historic moment on a night that was chock full of memorable hits.
“I just wanted to get in there and show the fans and everybody out there that women can fight,” Serrano said. “We have talent as well. The sky is the limit. I want more belts. I’m going to drop down to 122 pounds and become a four-division world champion like Miguel Cotto.”
