Monday 30 January 2012

Frampton Defends Title


Carl Frampton successfully defended his Commonwealth super-bantamweight title with an impressive seventh-round stoppage against Kris Hughes in London.

The Belfast fighter controlled the contest from the start and was never threatened by Hughes at York Hall.

Frampton floored Hughes with a powerful right hook early in the seventh and the Scotsman was deemed unfit to continue after struggling to his feet.

"Hughes was tough but I'm happy with my performance," said Frampton, 24.

"It took something spectacular to get rid of him and I delivered.

"I was told to take my time and up my pace when I felt like it.

"Sometimes I like to pick my shots and hurt opponents and that's what I did in this fight."

The win extends Frampton's unbeaten professional record to 12 fights while it is just a second defeat for Hughes.

Frampton claimed the vacant title in September with a commanding fourth-round stoppage against Mark Quon at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast.

He is managed by Barry McGuigan and the former world champion believes Frampton will be European champion before the year's end.