Gäste Forum » invigorated and Im ready to strike

NEW YORK -- Carl Frampton outslugged Leo Santa Cruz in a fight of the year contender to claim a featherweight world title by majority decision before an electric crowd of 9,062 on Saturday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.Most of the fans cheered wildly for Northern Irelands Frampton, who made history by becoming the first two-division titleholder from his country and the second Irishman to accomplish the feat.Judges Guido Cavalleri scored the fight 114-114, but he was overruled by Tom Schreck (117-111) and Frank Lombardi (116-112), who both had it for Frampton. ESPN.com also scored the fight for Frampton, 115-113.Frampton unified junior featherweight titles in February by winning a split decision against British rival Scott Quigg, but that fight failed to deliver the kind of action most expected.?That was not an issue on this night. Frampton (23-0, 14 KOs), who left the 122-pound division to move up to 126 pounds, and Santa Cruz (32-1-1, 18 KOs) waged an epic fight. In the end, it was Frampton who earned the close decision to join Steve Collins, who won middleweight and super middleweight belts in the 1990s, as the only Irishmen to win titles in two weight classes.?Its a dream come true, said Frampton, who was fighting in the United States for the second time. I had the dream of winning a world title and I won it, but I never thought Id 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. I respect [Santa Cruz] a lot. He was a true warrior.The people surely will remember this fight of the year candidate, along with the Francisco Vargas-Orlando Salido junior lightweight title fight and the welterweight title bout between Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter, which was also at Barclays Center.It was a great fight. Last time I was here for a big fight, I was talking about a fight of the year. And then we just saw that. That was a fight of the year, said Lou DiBella, who promoted Santa Cruz-Frampton and Thurman-Porter. Frampton fought a brilliant fight. I thought Santa Cruz came on in some rounds. I wouldnt have been surprised by anything. Frampton came in here and put on a show and Santa Cruz landed some bombs.The 27-year-old Santa Cruz, as always, was extremely busy, but Frampton, 29, was more accurate and appeared to have more sting on his shots.?According to CompuBox punch statistics, Frampton landed 242 of 668 punches (36 percent); Santa Cruz connected on 255 of 1,002 blows (25 percent).You have to look at Frampton and say this guy belongs on any pound-for-pound list, DiBella said. He is brilliant. The work rate in that fight was unbelievable. I say thats fight of the year -- a war fought at that high skill level. Classic stuff.Santa Cruz, also a former bantamweight and junior featherweight titleholder, was disappointed with the result that cost him his undefeated record.It was a tough fight from the beginning. We knew it was going to be a tough fight, but I thought it was close when Im in there throwing, Santa Cruz said. Maybe the judges were hearing the crowd and thought that every little punch was scoring.Santa Cruz came into the fight riding a bit of an emotional roller coaster. He nearly pulled out of the fight because his father and trainer, Jose Santa Cruz, has been battling cancer. But the elder Santa Cruz insisted his son go through with the fight and then perked him up when his illness went into remission and he was well enough to join him in training camp and travel to New York.After a somewhat tentative opening round, Santa Cruz and Frampton began to trade blows in the second round. Frampton, whose purse was $500,000, caught Santa Cruz with a clean left hook that staggered him and sent him toward the ropes. Santa Cruz recovered, and they continued to blast away at each other, combining to throw 160 punches in the round, according to CompuBox.Frampton kept the pressure on in the third round. He landed telling uppercuts and body shots against Santa Cruz, who appeared wary of the power. Santa Cruz, who earned $1 million, bounced back in the fourth round, when he began to find his distance and backed up Frampton with left hooks in an increasingly high-contact fight.Santa Cruz also had a big sixth round during which they stood in the center of the ring and traded toe-to-toe.Distance control and hitting hard. I won the fight because I didnt lose control, Frampton said. I earned his respect early in the fight with my distance control and hard punching.?The action rarely relented as they worked into the late rounds; both men laid leather on the other to the backdrop of a frenzied crowd. They came out for the 12th round firing huge shots, both seemingly feeling as though the fight was up for grabs. It was a wild atmosphere as they traded shots, both landing combinations in the middle of the ring as the crowd stood and cheered. The boxers combined to land 63 of 197 punches in the final round, and as the final seconds ticked down, they emptied their tanks, forcing referee Harvey Dock to separate them at the final bell.Nobody was sure who had won when it was over.I had a good game plan, Frampton said. [Trainer] Shane [McGuigan] was an unbelievable coach. He told me every time I came back into the corner that we could win this a lot easier. But I won it with my heart, not with my head, and I got my hand raised.DiBella compared it to the classic fights between Marco Antonio Barrera and Erik Morales, who had a legendary trilogy between junior featherweight and junior lightweight.It was a hard fight to score because it was back and forth, back and forth, like Rock em Sock em Robots. They both took huge punishment. It was a classic fight, DiBella said. It reminded me of Barrera-Morales.Like those Mexican legends, perhaps Frampton and Santa Cruz will develop a similar rivalry because both embraced the idea of a rematch.Its hard to get your first loss, but now well go back to the gym, well get the rematch and well win, and that loss will mean nothing, said Santa Cruz, who was making the second defense of the vacant belt he won last August against Los Angeles rival Abner Mares. I want to have a rematch in Los Angeles, but Ill go to Belfast, too.He has a difficult style, but we know his style and can get him in the rematch. The crowd was cheering, and I think the judges saw that and maybe, without that, we would have had a draw or maybe a decision.Added Frampton, a big star in Northern Ireland: I want big, memorable fights. I would love to take this man to Belfast for a rematch and show the people there what a great fighter he is.And what great fights they can make. Christian Okoye Super Bowl Jersey . The International Olympic Committee released the official list of bid cities on Friday after the deadline for applications had passed. The candidates -- all previously announced in their own countries -- are: Almaty, Kazakhstan; Beijing; Krakow, Poland; Lviv, Ukraine; Oslo, Norway; and Stockholm. Bashaud Breeland Super Bowl Jersey . He was followed closely by David Clarkson, donning red, seconds later. 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Light heavyweight titlist Juergen Braehmer and former titleholder Nathan Cleverly were scheduled to meet in 2011 in London, but an eye injury forced Braehmer to withdraw from the fight. Last year they were close to another deal to meet, but Cleverly opted for a different fight.Now they are once again set to square off. Braehmer will make the seventh defense of his secondary 175-pound world title against Cleverly on Oct. 1 at the Jahnsportforum in Neubrandenburg, Germany, Team Sauerland announced on Friday.Were delighted to have finally made this fight, promoter Kalle Sauerland said. This is a fight people have been talking about for the last five years, and Im sure it will live up to everybodys expectations. Fans should prepare for an explosive fight and a great night of action in Neubrandenburg.Braehmer (48-2, 35 KOs), a 37-year-old southpaw from Germany, is also happy to finally get the opponent he has wanted for quite some time.In boxing you can never say never, Braehmer said. This is a fight the fans have wanted to see for a long time, and Im happy its finally happening. I look forward to meeting Nathan Cleverly in the ring at the Jahnsportforum and proving once and for all who is the better boxer.Cleverly is a good fighter. He is a former world champion, and I believe he is still one of the best light heavyweights in the world. He has a very exciting offensive style, which Im sure will make for a great matchup. I will be expecting a tough fight.Cleverly (29-3, 15 KOs), of Wales, held a light heavyweight title from 2011 to 2013 before getting knocked out by Sergey Kovalev. He is 1-2 in his past three fights butt is coming off a highly competitive and exciting decision loss to Andrzej Fonfara in October in which they set various division CompuBox records.ddddddddddddThis fight has been destined to happen and I cant wait now, the 29-year-old Cleverly said. Its finally here -- Juergen and I will finally go to battle, and Im looking forward to the challenge. Ive had a good recovery period and rest since the Fonfara fight and I feel fantastic. Ive had a few niggles and injuries over the last couple of fights, but Ive recovered from them. Im invigorated and Im ready to strike again on the world scene and become a two-time world champion.Juergen is a great champion. Hes a puncher that has pedigree that stretches back all the way to the amateurs. Hes a proper professional and a credit to the game. Its like the old dog fighting the young dog, experience vs. youth, but Im 29 in my eighth world title fight so I have a bagful of experience of my own and I know what I have to do. I am going into the champions backyard, and I need to rip the title off him, and thats what I intend to do.Said Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, Cleverlys promoter. Im delighted to deliver a world title shot for Nathan in a fight that has been many years in the making. After his fight of the year contender with Fonfara, we have been looking at the big fights only, and Braehmer was always the target. Its a fight that Nathan fancies and has wanted for a long time. I believe that on Oct. 1, Britain will have another world champion. ' ' '