Sports

Frampton dazzles at Barclays

On Saturday, July 30, Carl Frampton, a 29-year-old professional boxer from Northern Ireland, won the WBA featherweight title with an impressive showing against Leo Santa Cruz at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn. And even though Frampton might not yet be a household name among American fight fans, he is gathering a devoted following in Westchester, where he chose to train for the title fight.

Carl Frampton, left, poses for a picture with Champs Boxing Club owner Ryan O’Leary in New Rochelle on July 12. Frampton trained at the New Rochelle gym in preparation for his July 30 fight against Leo Santa Cruz, in which the Irish fighter won the WBA featherweight title. Photo/Bobby Begun
Carl Frampton, left, poses for a picture with Champs Boxing Club owner Ryan O’Leary in New Rochelle on July 12. Frampton trained at the New Rochelle gym in preparation for his July 30 fight against Leo Santa Cruz, in which the Irish fighter won the WBA featherweight title. Photo/Bobby Begun

Frampton (23-0) spent the last month preparing for the bout at Champs Boxing Club in New Rochelle, which helped him to forge inroads with area boxing fans. His arrival was noted by elected officials, as Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino made a proclamation to celebrate the fighter on July 12, and the Westchester County Board of Legislators followed suit, recognizing July 30 as “Carl ‘The Jackal’ Frampton Day.”

Last Saturday night, in front of a supportive New York crowd, he was able to outpoint the previously undefeated Santa Cruz in a majority decision, 116-112, 117-111, 114-114, laying claim to his first world title in the featherweight division. Frampton began his assault in the second round, rocking Santa Cruz with a flurry of hard punches to send the champion into the ropes and take control of the fight.

Ryan O’Leary, the owner of Champs Boxing Club, was on hand to witness Frampton’s upset win.

“He was the underdog, he wasn’t supposed to do that, but he fought a masterful fight,” O’Leary said. “He was standing and trading, he wasn’t running, and it worked.”

According to O’Leary, Frampton’s stay at the gym meant that he—and the rest of the Champs organization—were pulling hard for the Irish fighter.

“We had about 60 members there at the fight,” he said. “And he got hit with a few good shots, and I have to say my heart kind of stopped.”

O’Leary, who trains both amateur and professional fighters out of his Division Street gym, acknowledged that having an international star like Frampton train there was a blessing.

“You can’t put it into perspective, you don’t realize how big this guy is, he’s massive in Europe,” O’Leary said. “But we didn’t even realize it, he was so fan-friendly, and you don’t think of it at the time.”

Frampton’s presence, he added, had a profound impact on several of the local fighters.

“Everybody raised their game, even I was training people differently,” O’Leary said. “Just seeing the way a guy like him trained, seeing the hard work that he put in, seeing a guy at the highest level, it was really overwhelming.”