Winning his first world title in front of an adoring hometown crowd is a moment Carl Frampton will never forget, though trumped ever so slightly by a win on the road to cap the best year of his boxing career.
The former three-time champion in two weight classes is on the hunt for a title in a third division, as he waits a crack at reigning junior lightweight titlist Jamel Herring (21-2, 10KOs). Their bout—which remains postponed due to the ongoing coronavirus disease pandemic—was due to take place on June 13 at Windsor Park in Frampton’s hometown of Belfast, Northern Ireland which also hosted his 122-pound title-winning 12-round decision of Kiko Martinez in September 2014.
That particular moment came in front of 15,000 partisan fans, only making the experience that much more memorable. His other two title wins came under vastly different experiences, unifying the 122-pound crown with a 12-round win over England’s Scott Quigg in their February 2016 clash of unbeaten titlists in an otherwise forgettable fight in Manchester. Five months later came the capper to a Fighter of the Year campaign, moving up to featherweight where he outpointed then-unbeaten titlist Leo Santa Cruz (37-1-1, 19KOs) in their July 2016 war at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
“Both moments were huge in my career. I’ve gotta say, probably the Leo Santa Cruz one (was bigger).” Frampton said of his title wins over Martinez and Santa Cruz in an interview with Crystina Poncher as part of Top Rank’s Catching Up With Crystina series. “I was the away fighter. I was a massive underdog. I think it was something like 35 American journalists were asked about that fight and 33 picked Leo. Not a lot of people outside of my team and my family thought that I would win that fight.”
The title win over Martinez was emotional given the circumstances and the ambiance, though only slightly dampened by two factors. Frampton had previously conquered the Spaniard, scoring a 9th round knockout just 19 months prior. Between their shared history and the benefit of a hometown backdrop, Frampton entered the fight as a considerable betting favorite to unseat the reigning 122-pound titlist.
Conversely, he traveled to Brooklyn as the underdog against Santa Cruz, at the time an unbeaten three-division titlist.
“That was a special, special moment for me,” Frampton fondly recalls. “Because I’ve traveled to New York and done it, that’s probably a similar reason as to why Jamel wants to come this way. Soak up that big atmosphere and do it in my backyard, it’s a good feeling when you’re doing it away from home.”
Interestingly, Frampton will enter the ring as a slight underdog for his title challenge versus Herring whenever their bout is rescheduled, even with it taking place in his hometown.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox