In Belfast last night, cheered on by an army of vociferous supporters making a cacophony of noise, Carl Frampton produced a stunning performance to move closer to a world title fight.
Unbeaten Frampton, taking on the former two-time world champion Hugo Cazares, not only beat the Mexican in what was billed as a WBC super-bantamweight title eliminator, but became the first boxer to stop Cazares since October 1999.
Even more impressively, Frampton not only stopped his man but did it as early as the second round. In doing so, Frampton will surely now get a shot at the WBC champion Leo Santa Cruz.
Speaking about just such a possibility Frampton?s manager, the legendary Barry McGuigan, remarked to the media after the fight,
‘We are going to make an outstanding proposal to Santa Cruz financially and hopefully he will come over to Belfast.?
‘The sooner we can get it on the better.?
He has got morals and I believe he genuinely wants to fight Carl. It is all about sitting down and hammering out the deal.’
And as for the man himself, Frampton now has a record that reads 18-0 with 13 coming by way of knockout, Frampton remarked about his night?s work,
?That was a big shot that hurt him and it shows the power I have. ?
‘I just threw it and it landed and that was game over.?
‘The support has been fantastic. I have the loudest bunch of supporters in Europe without doubt.’
On a future fight with Santa Cruz, Frampton added: ‘He wants to be in blockbuster fights and me against him would be huge.?
‘It is the most exciting fight out there right now and I think he will want it even more now.’
Let?s hope Leo Santa Cruz can be lured to Belfast because if he can it is going to be some night!
Frampton Wins in Emphatic Style
