Frampton takes step towards stardom

9:57 AM ET

Carl Frampton hijacked the grand plans of the brilliant Leo Santa Cruz on Saturday night with a stunning win in New York.

Frampton was the underdog, the challenger, moving up in weight and away from home, but he fought with incredible intelligence to take Santa Cruz’s WBA featherweight title.

Santa Cruz was unbeaten in 33 fights. The Frampton fight was his 12th in four years for a world title and he had a long list of future opponents. Santa Cruz was destined for, and had been selected for, dominance and continued lucrative TV fights; nobody told Frampton before the first bell.

Editor’s PicksFrampton takes title in slugfest vs. Santa Cruz

Northern Ireland’s Carl Frampton made history Saturday night by becoming the first two-division titleholder from his country, thanks to a majority decision over Leo Santa Cruz.

At ringside in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn the champions and potential future challengers watched the brilliant Frampton use his brain to take rounds and then take the belt. Santa Cruz talked about a rematch, possibly in Los Angeles and that could happen. However, he looked broken by the loss and will need to answer a few harsh questions about his lack of tactics.

Lee Selby, the IBF featherweight champion from Barry Island in Wales, was an excited ringside guest. “It was a great performance and I would love a fight with Carl,” he said. It is a fight that could be made as the pair share the same adviser in Al …

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