Carl Frampton landed the harder punches and landed 46% of his power shots. Leo Santa Cruz averaged 21 of 83 landed per round. 402 of their 497 combined landed punches were power shots. Santa Cruz landed 25% of his power shots after landing 47% in his previous 9 fights.
In a possible "Fight of the Year" showdown between two undefeated fighters, Carl Frampton edged Leo Santa Cruz in a firefight to capture the WBA Featherweight World Championship in the main event of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® Saturday in front of 9,062 fans at the electric Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Frampton (23-0, 14 KOs), the former unified super bantamweight champion who moved up to 126 pounds to challenge Santa Cruz (32-1-1, 18 KOs), became the first native of Northern Ireland to become a two-division world champion.
The majority decision, scored 114-114 draw, 116-112 and 117-111, was fought at a blistering pace from the outset
Santa Cruz's hallmark has always been his high-octane output and power punching, but the three-division world champion was unable to utilize his reach advantage, and his activity was eliminated by Frampton's tremendous counterpunching and power shots. While both fighters are top 10 in the world in jabs, a staggering 402 of their 497 combined landed punches were power shots.
While Santa Cruz landed almost equal the amount of power shots - 206 vs. 191 - the 46 percent that Frampton connected on appeared to land cleaner and inflict more damage. While Santa Cruz was the taller fighter, he lunged forward and fought short on the inside, allowing Frampton to minimize the reach and contest the battle toe-to-toe, where it suited him best.
