Carl Frampton: Five Matches The Boxing Fans Would Love to See Him In!

By Jeffrey “Italian Medallion” Cellini

Carl Frampton became a two-division world champion with a majority decision victory over Leo Santa Cruz in their WBA featherweight title bout recently in New York. Judge Guido Cavalleri scored the contest 114-114, but Frank Lombardi ,116-112, and Tom Schreck ,117-111, ruled in favor of the Northern Irishman, giving him the belt his manager Barry McGuigan won in 1985. The “Belfast Jackal’s” stock is currently on the rise and bigger fights seem to be on the horizon for the new champion in the near future.

The featherweight class has historically been home to some of the greatest fighters in boxing history, and the division seems to be as loaded as ever with talent right now. Frampton has a list of potential opponents that would make any matchup a headliner for a PPV event.
5) Leo Santa Cruz, 32-1-1, 18 KO’s, deserves a rematch; however, it seems unlikely that the former three-division world champion will be granted an immediate chance to regain his title. Furthermore, Cruz never did give Abner Mares, 29-2-1, 15 KO’s his rematch after a highly competitive fight. If a return bout is not worked out, the former WBA featherweight champion should set his sights on the junior lightweight division.

4) Vasyl Lomachenko, 6-1, 4 KO’s, is the current WBO junior lightweight champion, having previously held the WBO featherweight title. It is very unlikely that Frampton would move up another weight class so soon. Lomachenko is one of the most skilled fighters in the sport today as well as arguably the greatest amateur boxer of all time. Frampton undoubtedly, though, has the Ukrainian on his radar as a potential blockbuster fight in the future.

3) Lee Selby, 23-1, 8 KO’s, is the current IBF featherweight champion, who just happens to reside in Wales. A unification showdown would be a major event in the United Kingdom. The Welsh fighter has only defended his title twice, both by unanimous decision. Selby is not a big puncher, which makes him a likely target by the Frampton camp.

2) Guillermo Rigondeaux, 17-0, 11 KO’s, is the current WBA (Super) and lineal super bantamweight champion, having previously held the WBO and The Ring Magazine super bantamweight titles. The former seven-time Cuban national champion at bantamweight, 2000-06, is currently ranked fifth in the world pound-for-pound. Frampton and Rigondeaux seem to have the potential making of a PPV superfight in the future. They did not have their showdown at super bantamweight, perhaps it will occur at featherweight.

1) Gary Russell,JR., 27-1, 16 KO’s, who currently holds the WBC featherweight title, is ranked as the top fighter in the featherweight division now that Lomachenko has moved up to the junior lightweight division. Russell’s only loss came at the hands of the Ukrainian fighter back in 2014 by majority decision. Frampton Vs Russell JR. is definitely the best dream-maker matchup for the featherweight class.

Congratulations to the “Belfast Jackal” for becoming the first Northern Ireland fighter to win a world title in two weight divisions. Fight fans can appreciate a champion who is willing to face other great fighters. Let’s hope that the new WBA featherweight champion, Carl Frampton, keeps challenging the best fighters in the world in the featherweight and super bantamweight divisions.

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