THE SHORTLIST FOR RTÉ Sports Person of the Year is packed with worthy contenders. Alan Waldron endorses the claims of undefeated Belfast boxer, two-weight world champion, Carl ‘The Jackal’ Frampton…
Carl Frampton has been a beacon of light in a largely gloomy year for Irish boxing, yet he doesn’t seem to be getting the attention or plaudits he deserves.
‘The Jackal’ became just the second Irish boxer to become a two-weight world champion (after Steve Collins) when he defeated the previously unbeaten Leo Santa Cruz of Mexico in a pulsating July bout in New York.
It was a remarkable achievement, overcoming a feared opponent who had racked up 18 knockouts in his previous 32 wins, a three-weight world champion himself, who had yet to taste defeat in his 10 years on the professional stage.
Let’s not forget too that Frampton’s victory against Santa Cruz was the second time he had prevailed against a previously unbeaten opponent in a massive world title fight this year.
The 29-year-old’s highly-anticipated February super bantamweight unification bout against Scott Quigg may not have lived up to the great expectations, particularly in the cagey early rounds, but Frampton again proved his class to prevail.
Barry McGuigan, Frampton’s mentor, is convinced ‘The Jackal’ is well on his way to becoming the greatest Irish boxer of all time. Let’s not wait until that is set in stone to acknowledge his achievements.
Frampton is also a champion of humility. And while that may not be considered among the criteria for such an award as this, I would argue that it is the type of trait that should be celebrated in sportspeople, particularly as genuine modesty seems to be becoming rarer and rarer in professional sport.
Having beaten Santa Cruz by a majority decision (116-112, 117-111, 114-114) Frampton, in a refreshing reaction, suggested one judge had been too harsh on his opponent. “I think one of the judges had it wider than it should have been. I won by two or three rounds,” Frampton said after the fight. How many other fighters could you imagine saying something like that?
A champion inside and outside of the ring.
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