Carl Frampton has been crowned THE RING Magazine Fighter of the Year for 2016 in a year which the Northern Irish fighter won titles in two different weight divisions.
Frampton picked up decision victories against both Scott Quigg and American Leo Santa Cruz over the course of the year and wrote his name in the history books as one of the greatest boxers to emerge from Irish shores.
"Obviously it's a huge honor," Frampton told the publication. "…Toward the end of the year I picked up fighter of the year on some websites but THE RING Magazine, that’s the one. I’ve very, very proud of that."
The 29-year-old defeated UK rival Quigg in February to unify the WBA and IBF world super-bantamweight titles. "The Jackal" survived a late onslaught to win the bout and then opted to move up in weight to take on Santa Cruz.
Frampton defeated the American in Brooklyn on a majority decision to add the WBA featherweight belt to his collection. He is set for an immediate rematch with Santa Cruz on January 28.
Carl Frampton, right, on his way to victory against Leo Santa Cruz during their WBA Super World Featherweight Championship fight at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Carl Frampton won via majority decision. (AP Photo/Steve Luciano)
"So the final tally: Two fights against two elite, previously unbeaten opponents in hostile territory, two victories," the publication noted.
"No other fighter had that kind of year. That’s why Frampton edged fellow candidates Terence Crawford, Roman Gonzalez, Vasyl Lomachenko and Manny Pacquiao for Fighter of the Year honors."
Frampton added: "I had an amazing year last year. I unified at 122 and moved up and fought a great fighter at featherweight in Leo Santa Cruz. The year went pretty much to plan. It couldn’t have went better."
Thank you Ring magazine for naming me fighter of the year. This is a very proud moment for me https://t.co/Nw0X2liqwG
— Carl Frampton MBE (@RealCFrampton) January 17, 2017
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