Frampton gets knocked down twice but defends Jr. Featherweight title over

Carl Frampton admitted he was disappointed with his display despite retaining his IBF super-bantamweight title.

Gonzalez, now 25-2-2 with 15 KOs, nearly turned this party upside down in the very first round.

Crolla appeared to have clinched a belt of his own in a close fight which saw Perez twice docked points for frequent low blows – but the judges were split, with one ruling for each fighter and the third calling it a draw.

“Carl is a true inspiration across the whole of the north of Ireland and I have no doubt that everyone will be cheering him on and hoping that he can continue his fantastic journey and retain his title on Saturday night”.

Carl Frampton and Alejandro Gonzalez Jr fight Saturday afternoon at the Don Haskins Center.

It might not have been quite the first impression he wanted to make in his American debut, but the 28-year-old had managed to stretch his unbeaten record to 21-0 (14 KOs).

But his work-rate and the quality of his punches became more accentuated as Gonzalez, who had not been beyond 10 rounds in his career, began to tire slightly.

In the end, two judges scored the fight 116-108 in the Irishman’s favour, with the other scoring it 115-109.

“I looked a bit wild, but kept as calm as possible and finished him”.

“The only two boxers I know who lift weights are Frank Bruno and Carl Frampton“.

“My legs went stiff and I couldn’t use my toes for a while, but it was a flash knockdown, I came back and I won”. As for Gonzalez Jr, he is likely not ready to match skill with Frampton, but he is the son of a former world champion and he will have the home field advantage fighting in El Paso. I want to travel.

“I took a little too much weight off the last two days”, Frampton said.

“There are weight issues involved as Carl had to lose a considerable amount for this fight and we may move him to featherweight”, said McGuigan.

The fight will be shown live on terrestrial television in America on the CBS network as part of the Premier Boxing Champions series. He’s going to try to replicate what his dad did against Kevin Kelley in Texas and try to steal the title, thinking we’re underestimating him. “Boxing diehards will watch any fight, but the casuals want to see blood and guts, and I think that my style is exciting and I can give them that”. “I couldn’t move in there”, said Frampton, looking forward to a family holiday more than anything else. Santa Cruz was in the crowd in El Paso on Saturday night and he will take the fight now.

The scores read 96-94 for Arreola and 95-95 twice. “I showed tonight I was the better fighter”. “It was just a tough fight”, said Arreola.

“There is always pressure on me but I feel I have the power to take out any super-bantamweight in the world”.