ON A night of ice and fire in Belfast, with the wind whistling through the columns holding up the canapé that protected the outdoor ring on the Titanic slipway, Carl Frampton resisted any number of bad jokes about sinking and swimming and carried the weight of an entire city and nation to win the IBF superbantamweight title and deliver Northern Ireland their first world champion since Wayne McCullough.
It was a victory that mixed complete control and precision with a bottomless reservoir of courage as Kiko Martinez upturned Frampton’s dominance late on in the fight, blessed by a crowd of 16,000 and given a rich historical resonance by the presence of Barry McGuigan as his manager and promoter.
Seven years ago Martinez came to Dublin and fed off the hostility of a packed crowd in the old Point Depot to drop Bernard Dunne inside two minutes and take his European title. Last night Frampton’s movement, hand speed and superior power doused every spark in Martinez. He dropped him in the fifth round and inspired one final ferocious assault in the 12th round to drain the last dregs of energy from Martinez and grant Frampton victory.
In every way last night represented the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. For the first few years of Frampton’s professional career Martinez was always the target. Different dates were floated to set the fight: a European title fight in July 2011; another bout in August 2012 called off after Martinez broke his arm. When they finally met in March 2013 in Belfast for Martinez’s European title, Frampton soaked up Martinez’s relentless pressure, suffered a perforated eardrum and wore him down before dropping Martinez to the floor in the ninth.
Frampton’s potential route to a world title fight seemed less scenic than Martinez’s, but a powerful display to stop Jonathan Romero in six rounds the following August filched the belt. His victory might have been a surprise, but the quality of his defences in Spain and Japan reflected his renewed confidence and reinforced Martinez as a genuine world champion.
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When Martinez defended his world title against Jeffrey Mathebula in December 2013, Frampton was in Spain for the fight. He gave Martinez a thumbs-up. Martinez responded with a wave. A few moments later, Martinez’s sister came across to Frampton. “Next time,” she said. “Kiko will kill you.”
The weather and the history of their previous fight initially took that heat from the battle early on last night. Instead of hunting Frampton down Martinez stood off early on, allowing Frampton the centre of the ring and settled for landing a few hefty body shots. It suited Frampton. His straight right hand made contact with sufficient frequency to edge the first couple of rounds and keep Martinez at distance. Another good right in the third caught Martinez off-balance and roused the crowd like a drop of blood into a school of sharks, but it was unfolding into a night for precision and patience.
Although Martinez continued to stalk Frampton, he struggled to throw as many punches as Frampton, preferring to wait for Frampton to slow down and get static before seeking the big hit, it wasn’t unfolding that way.
A dubious clash of heads late in the fourth left Martinez with a small cut over his eye and the fight drifting away from him.
It got messier in the fifth. After Frampton slipped to the canvas having lost his footing, Martinez landed one punch as Frampton regathered himself but avoided the concession of a point. As Martinez came forward more, chances opened up for Frampton. Another good right hand with 20 seconds left dropped Martinez.
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Martinez made the bell, but with blood streaming into his left eye and Frampton enjoying a handsome lead on points, his only chance lay with a knockout. So he went after it. He chased Frampton down and landed more body shots, opened a slight nick over Frampton’s right eye in the ninth and raised a few questions about Frampton’s stamina.
The gap closed a little in the tenth: Martinez landing a succession of juddering body shots, Frampton responding with another ferocious right hook. The final couple of rounds were a race to the line. Martinez could sense one big punch within reach, Frampton could feel the outer reaches of the world title belt on his fingertips. In the end he made it, opening another set of doors to a new phase in his career.
A match with WBA champion Scott Quigg would guarantee a monster crowd in Ireland or the UK, but more blood could be spilled between McGuigan and Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Promotions trying to fix the fight. A big money fight against WBC champion Leo Santa Cruz would represent a major pay day and an opportunity to impress America, but also a gamble.
For now they will celebrate the culmination of a lifetime’s work.