A trilogy that the world wants to see.
Carl Frampton suffered the first loss of his professional career as Leo Santa Cruz gained a measure of revenge and reclaimed the WBA featherweight from the Northern Irish fighter.
The 10,000 crowd certainly got value for their money as the duo exchanged some ferocious blows over 12 exciting rounds, but ultimately the judges scored the fight in favour of Santa Cruz, 115-113, 115-113, 114-114.
Immediately after the fight, the Mexican boxer was already talking up the potential trilogy fight. "Before the fight I said I wanted revenge and I wanted to work hard. Carl Frampton is a good fighter. Let’s make it a third fight!", said the new champion.
Frampton was honest in his assessment of the fight and had no complaints about the overall result: "It was a very tough fight. Some of the rounds were close. I really think Leo deserved it. He told me what he was going to do. The brawler was out-boxing the boxer. My fault", said the 29-year-old.
It appears that a trilogy fight is on the cards, and the sportsmanship and respect between them was a lesson to all.
Frampton suggested that Belfast could be the potential venue for a third showdown between these two great fighters. "I hope we can do it again. It's 1-1, we have to do it again. I hope Leo is a man of his word. He said if it was a third fight, he'd come to Belfast. I hope he does", he said.
While Belfast might be an unlikely venue, plenty of people will love to see another meeting between the pair.
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