Carl Frampton looks to win title in second weight class
— -- Thirty-one years ago, June 8, 1985 to be exact, Irish hero Barry McGuigan ended the seven-year featherweight title reign of fellow Hall of Famer Eusebio Pedroza by winning a 15-round decision, the greatest triumph of his career.
That was nearly two years before Carl Frampton was born. Frampton, of course, would grow up to become, along with McGuigan, one of the finest prize fighters to come out of Northern Ireland. And in storybook fashion, it was McGuigan, serving as Frampton's manager, who guided him to a junior featherweight world title in 2014 and a unified title in February when Frampton outpointed England's Scott Quigg in a huge fight.
But having beaten his greatest rival at 122 pounds, and having trouble making the weight, Frampton (22-0, 14 KOs) decided it was time to move up to featherweight for his next challenge. It will come against formidable featherweight titleholder Leo Santa Cruz (32-0-1, 18 KOs), a three-division titlist, in the main event of a tripleheader on Saturday (Showtime, 9 p.m. ET with preliminary bouts on Showtime Extreme beginning at 7 p.m. ET/PT) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Frampton, the underdog, has the opportunity to surpass his mentor McGuigan in terms of winning a title in a second weight class and, if successful, he would claim the same WBA belt McGuigan won all those years ago. Both mean a lot to Frampton.
Related Stories
ABC News Live