Santa Cruz vs. Frampton post-fight results and analysis

Sometimes fights look great on paper and don't quite deliver - we see this last weekend with Crawford vs. Postol. Leo Santa Cruz vs. Carl Frampton looked great, but unlike last weekend, this one delivered and in a big way. Santa Cruz vs. Frampton was an instant classic and a clear FOTY candidate. Santa Cruz's high output always leads to entertainment, but here, Frampton matched him, being willing to just stand and trade with him when needed, but also applying a great counter game. And in the end, that was enough to squeak out the majority decision win. This was a very tough fight to score, but Frampton winning was the right result.

Featherweight is a deep, exciting division, and Frampton's title win just adds to that excitement. You've got Gary Russell, Jr. and Lee Selby both out there as possible opponents, plus plenty of other exciting fighters. But all that is the future - for now, you've got Carl Frampton, two-division champion, still undefeated, and the man to finally figure out Santa Cruz. Terrific fight - whether you are a boxing fan or not, track this down.

Thoughts on the rest of the card:

• Mikey Garcia came back for the first time in two and a half years here. It took him a round or two to warm up, but once he did, he reminded everyone why he was a top 10 pound for pound fighter when he left. He put his opponent down 4 times before the referee and Elio Rojas had seen enough. Garcia did get hit a lot, but clearly Rojas's shots were not hurting him, so were those shots a sign of defensive gaps, or of Garcia being willing to eat a shot that he knew was not a threat? We may have to wait a fight or two to get that answer, but for now, Garcia is very clearly back. Post-fight, he talked about getting a title fight at 135 next time - it looks like Terry Flanagan may be next for him.
• Huge kudos to Elio Rojas, who was fighting up in weight, was clearly outgunned, but showed huge heart. After the first knockdown, he came out swinging - it cost him, but it also probably earned him a lot of fans and another high profile fight. Much respect to him.
• Tony Harrison earned a 9th round KO win over Sergey Rabchenko to open the Showtime card, but it wasn't a pretty road getting there. Harrison pretty much dominated the fight, using his jab and movement to control the range and never allow Rabchenko a chance. Rabchenko was never able to make an adjustment, and so the fight stayed in the same mode throughout. Then, in round 9, Harrison landed a nice right behind the jab, Rabchenko went down for the first time in his career, and when he made it back to his feet still wobbly, the referee waived it off. A solid technical performance from Harrison, but not a thrilling one.
• In the Sho Extreme prelims, Paulie Malignaggi was victorious over Gabriel Bracero, though showed that clearly his best days are behind him. And Tevin Farmer defeated Ivan Redkach in something of a foul heavy affair that put the final nail in the coffin of Redkach as an interesting prospect.