Highlights
–Both fighters showed little in the early rounds, but Carl Frampton was able to sustain his jab while using his footwork to keep Scott Quigg at bay.
–Quigg finally became more active in the eighth as he landed to the body and the head, and became the aggressor over the next few rounds as he battled his way back into the fight.
–The action heated up in the later rounds, with the fighters going toe-to-toe in the center of the ring in the 10th, but Frampton maintained the upper hand to win a split decision.
The highly anticipated “Battle of Britain” took a while to build into the frenetic fury that was expected, but it was Carl Frampton who maintained the upper hand throughout to win the 122-pound title unification bout.
Carl Frampton used his superior speed and tactics to penetrate Scott Quigg's defense during their 122-pound title unification bout in Manchester, England. Frampton won a split decision to remain unbeaten. (Matchroom Boxing)
Frampton put on a brilliant display of tactical boxing to gain a split decision over Scott Quigg and remain undefeated before a spirited sell-out crowd of 21,000 at Manchester Arena.
Both boxers started cautiously and neither gained a real foothold in the opening three minutes as the fans chanted throughout the round.
In the second, Frampton appeared to settle into his stride and doubled up with the jab before landing a clean right hook toward the end of the round.
Frampton’s ramrod jab proved a potent force as Quigg was caught on several occasions in Round 4, with the Bury boxer relying on big, whaling hooks, none of which found the target.
In the fifth, the Irishman really looked to be enjoying himself as his superior technical skills kept Quigg seemingly paralyzed. Frampton backed up his jab with some decisive work, while Quigg could only reply with inaccuracy.
Quigg’s inaction continued into the seventh, as the crowd began to voice its disapproval. That seemingly spurred Quigg into action in the second half of the round, but Frampton got the better of a late exchange with a flurry of blows.
Quigg found his range at last in the eighth round as a stinging right hook clearly registered with Frampton, who acknowledged the shot.
Quigg enjoyed his best round in the ninth as two bludgeoning right hands caught Frampton flush on the whiskers, but neither punch seemed to have any lasting effect.
The 10th round was a barnstorming three minutes as both boxers pummeled away to the head and body. While Frampton was clearly the more accurate, as he had been throughout the contest, Quigg did land some telling shots of his own, underlining his own outstanding conditioning.
The 11th was also terrific theater as science largely went out of the window. Both fighters sought the conclusive finish and Quigg again landed with two big blows, but Frampton seemed to shake them off without much consequence.
With Quigg seeming to be making a late run in the fight, Frampton regained his bounce in the 12th round as he appeared determined to finish strong. The Irishman danced on his toes and used his jab to keep Quigg at bay until the final bell, when both fighters smiled and embraced.
Frampton earned winning scores of 116-112 from two of the judges (judge Levi Martinez had it 115-113 for Quigg) to take a split decision and consolidate two 122-pound world titles.
