Carl Frampton vs Nonito Donaire

FILIPINO world champion boxer Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire fell short in his attempt to claim the interim World Boxing Organization (WBO) featherweight title early Sunday morning (Manila time) in Belfast, losing by unanimous decision to hometown bet Carl “The Jackal” Frampton.

All three judges scored the fight 117-111 and that was a fair assessment of the bout. I scored it 8-4 in Frampton's favor. Frampton had a few anxious moments as uppercuts and a couple left hooks seemed to wobble him on two occasions.

However, Frampton's speed and use of distance were the factors. He moved in and out of striking range smoothly and landed the better shots in all but four of the rounds. Sensing he had the fight in the bag, Frampton began to coast a bit through the final four rounds, but Donaire was unable to take advantage of his decelerated opponent.

As long as Frampton kept himself just out of jab distance, he was able to dart in to strike and out of firing range to repeatedly score against his aging opponent.

Doniare seemed to get ignited for the 11th and 12th rounds. He landed a big uppercut and left hook in the 11th that Frampton later admitted hurt him, but the Irishman did a good job sustaining himself and making it through the frame. In the 12th, Donaire pushed forward for most of the round, but Frampton managed to finish with a flurry.

Here is a look at the entire fight with the very uneventful Zolani Tete vs. Omar Narvaez bout preceding Frampton-Donaire:

See more