SSE Arena, Belfast, North Ireland - For the WBO interim-featherweight title, Carl Frampton (25-1, 14 KOs) was too good and too fast in winning a twelve round unanimous decision over former four division champion Nonito Donaire (38-5, 24 KOs).
All three judges scored it 117-111 for Frampton.
Frampton is now the mandatory challenger to WBO full champion Oscar Valdez, who is coming off a huge decision win over Scott Quigg.
The first round was rather close with both boxers having some moments. But in the second, Frampton really let his hands go and created some serious swelling around the left eye of Donaire.
In the third, the pace was a bit more measured, as Frampton was just working a jab and countering from a distance. He was picking his punches well and landing some quick, solid shots. Donaire was a step too slow to land his counters in return.
Frampton continued the pressure and accurate punches in the fourth. Donaire was blasting back, but his shots were being blocked by Frampton's gloves. They continued to fight close on the inside in the fifth, with Frampton outslugging Donaire for most of the three minutes. Donaire was able to land a few uppercuts in the final thirty seconds.
Donaire was pretty bruised up after the sixth round. Frampton continue to connect with the hard and sharper punches. They were brawling away in the seventh. Frampton was wobbled by a big uppercut but fired right back with a series of hard shots to get out of trouble and back Donaire up. In the eight, Frampton stayed at a distance and boxed safely as Donaire was unable to get to him.
There was still no sense of urgency from Donaire in the tenth and eleventh, as Frampton just took his time and continued to outbox Donaire while landing calculating punches. In the final seconds of the eleventh, Donaire was able to land some very hard punches including two big left hands.
Frampton, knowing he was well ahead on the cards as they entered the twelfth and final round, was just boxing safely from the distance. Donaire was applying a lot of pressure, doing a lot of work as Frampton was mostly on the move and countering.
2023-10-20 21:32:07
