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Carl Frampton defeats Quigg on legendary night

After all the years of build up, all the anticipation, and all the bad blood, Carl Frampton has beaten long-time rival Scott Quigg to unify the IBF and WBA super bantamweight World titles.

The PPV clash tonight at the Manchester Arena saw one of the greatest atmospheres in Irish boxing history as The Jackal Army took over the city, the venue, and the night.

The bout was one which, like the negotiations, took a while to get going. However, as the new unified champ and his bank balance will tell you, the delay in the ‘action’ was highly beneficial to the Belfast man.

Frampton pitched a shut-out for the first half of the fight in a cagey affair however this gave him a solid foundation for the home stretch when Quigg, as expected, came on strong.

As the old cliché goes, it was a fight of two halves and the twinkling toes of Frampton in rounds 1-7 was replaced by the grit, chin, and conditioning of Frampton in rounds 8-12.

As Quigg poured through in the closing rounds Frampton gave as good as he got in a highly exciting climax to the fight and withstood a barrage of body shots.

The bout went to the scorecards and the judges at ringside were split with two giving the fight to Frampton 116-112, and one awarding Quigg the win (115-113).

The roar when the decision was read in Frampton’s favour could be described as a once in a lifetime moment, and the 29 year old has certainly cemented his position as a legend of Irish boxing.

*At ringside, irish-boxing.com scored the bout 116-113 and 117-111 to Frampton.

Joe O'Neill

Reporting on Irish boxing the past five years. Work has appeared on irish-boxing.com, Boxing News, the42.ie, and local and national media. Provide live ringside updates, occasional interviews, and special features on the future of Irish boxing. email: joneill6@tcd.ie

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