Frampton Defeats Santa Cruz For WBA Featherweight World Championship
Carl Frampton unanimously outpointed previously undefeated champion Leo Santa Cruz on Saturday night to take the WBA super featherweight title.
Frampton, from Northern Ireland, improved to 23-0. Santa Cruz, from Mexico, dropped to 32-1-1.
Judges Frank Lombardi and Tom Shreck gave him the fight with 116-112 and 117-111 scores. The third judge, Guido Cavalleri, had it 114-114.
At the end of the second round, both fighters received a sustained, roaring ovation from the crowd of 9,062 at Brooklyn's Barclays Center. Santa Cruz and Frampton took turns landing heavy shots in the round, and continued to alternate exchanges for the remainder of the fight.
In order to land the fight with Santa Cruz, Frampton forfeited his IBF super bantamweight title in April.
