Barclays Center Results July 30 – Frampton Grabs Gold!

Barclays Center Results July 30 – Saturday night saw the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York host Showtime Boxing for a full night of fights that saw WBA super world featherweight champion Leo Santa Cruz defending his belt against undefeated Carl Frampton.

Ireland’s Frampton came out very focused, and it was clear he had enough crowd support in NYC that it sounded like a split crowd during the fighter intros and in round one the singing of the Irish fans made it sound like downtown Belfast.

The opening rounds saw a tense feeling-out process with Frampton holding his ground. In round two, Frampton knocked Santa Cruz off balance before the two men settled in and boxed. Frampton was using good lateral movement and seemed to be throwing the harder shots, occasionally landing to the body. Santa Cruz seemed to turn it up from there and Frampton was looking tired by round seven.

To his credit, Frampton found a second wind, and he once again was backing Santa Cruz up. The two men seemed to alternate winning rounds, as Frampton certainly slowed Santa Cruz’ punch count throughout the fight. Frampton was able to land a few “eye-catching” punches, but Santa Cruz was the busier fighter. In the last round, the two tired men laid it on the line. The fight went to the judges who returned Frampton the winner by majority decision: 114-114, 116-112, and 117-111. “The Jackal” goes home with the WBA Super World featherweight title, the second weight class he grabs a belt in. They are partying in Ireland Sunday!

In 140-pound action, Mikey Garcia made a successful return, stopping Elio Rojas in the fifth round. Rojas too was making a comeback, and he appeared to be more active in the opening rounds, but Garcia opened up in round three, knocking Rojas down twice. Garcia scored two more knockdowns in round five and that was enough for the referee to call a halt. Mikey Garcia returned with a flourish, moving his record to 35-0.

In an IBF 154-pound title eliminator, Tony Harrison (23-1) outclassed Sergey Rabchenko, logging most of the early rounds with a sound defense and strong counter punching. Rabchenko, who threw far fewer punches, was knocked down in the ninth round, forcing the stoppage. The end came at the 1:18 mark.

Veteran former two-division world champion Paulie Malignaggi (35-7) returned to his hometown to face another Brooklynite in Gabriel Bracero (24-2). The 10-round fight was for the “King of Brooklyn” belt. Malignaggi won the contraption via scores of 96-94 and 98-92 twice.

In another undercard bout of note, Brooklyn’s Amanda Serrano made quick work of Calixta Silgado of Colombia, knocking her down twice in the opening round to get the stoppage at the 1:41 mark. Serrano retains her WBO world female featherweight title.

Barclays Center Results July 30