Josh Warrington vs Carl Frampton: IBF champion retains title as Frampton ponders retirement
Follow latest reaction from the Manchester Arena
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Your support makes all the difference.Josh Warrington defeated Carl Frampton in one of the fights of the year, retaining his IBF featherweight championship and sending him on to greater things in an attempt to unify the division.
Leeds-born Warrington exploded out of the blocks in the very first round and nearly knocked Frampton down, with the former two-weight world champion only just surviving to the bell and suffering the same barrage in the second. Frampton recovered to make a fight of it in a scrap that developed into a classic, but Warrington proved a class above throughout and again nearly finished it in the 12th.
Re-live all the action here.
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Preview
When and where is the fight?
The bout will take place on December 22nd at the Manchester Arena, it was initially set to take place in a stadium but concerns over dates and mandatory challengers meant Warren settled with selecting an arena.
Ring walks will take place around 10pm but as always is the way with boxing, that is subject to change.
Where can I watch it?
It will be shown live on BT Sport Box Office, the broadcaster's second pay-per-view event of December following on from Deontay Wilder's world heavyweight title defence against Tyson Fury.
The cost of the box office event has yet to be announced but will likely be £19.95.
Can I stream online?
The fight will be shown on the BT Sport Box Office website and via the BT Sport Box Office app.
Who's going to win?
Josh Warrington 15/8
Carl Frampton 8/15
Draw 20/1
Gorman vs CojanuNathan Gorman beats Razwan Cojanu by unanimous decision 119-109, 119-109, 120-108
Nathan Gorman beats Razwan Cojanu by unanimous decision
Of course, Warrington vs Frampton is not the only big fight on tonight as Dillian Whyte and Dereck Chisora clash in a rematch of their 2016 epic in London.
However, as Martin Hines writes, the fact that the two exciting fights clash is nothing but a sham from promoters Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren, with both having questions to answer for how this has been allowed to happen in what is quickly becoming the promotion war.
↵However, if you also want to keep an eye on what unfolds at the O2, you can follow Whyte vs Chisora LIVE with Tom Kershaw and Adam Hamdani.
Next up it's an exciting bout between talented Northern Irishman Michael Conlan and Doncasrer native Jason Cunningham.
Conlan vs CunninghamRound one: Conlan is boxing with an extremely low guard and prefers to crouch as he attacks, which is helping him to shoot in and out when attacking and gives him a spring to avoind anything that Cunningham throws. A good strong start from Conlan whose movement is proving a probelem for Cunningham.
Conlan vs Cunningham
Round two: Cunningham catches Conlan for the first time as he leaves his head in range for a moent too long. However, it's a one-off moment as for the rest of the bout Conlan is able to land on Cunningham's right side well, both to the head and the body.
Conlan vs CunninghamRound three: Another lovely left overhand catches Cunningham, but Conlan then gets a second warning for a low shot and he's on his final warning. He catches Cunningham again with a right hand though it lacked real power, and we've definitely got a fight on our hands here. Another one to Conlan.
Conlan vs Cunningham
Round four: Conlan lands a right but a split-second later he wears one that rocks him backwards, and gives Cunningham the green light to go on the attack. If it rocked Conlan, he's recovered quickly and he's back into his stride, though just escapes losing a point with another low shot. The Northern Irishman is being made to work for it now, and Cunngham has certainly upped his work-rate. A very close round that one.
Conlan vs CunninghamRound five: The first minute calms down somewhat but Conlan then ups the pace in the middle of the round, only to meet a good response from Cunningham. Conlan gets away with another shot that is borderline low, but the referee doesn't seem to be spotting them at the moment.
Conlan vs CunninghamRound six: As we approach the halfway stage - and both Frampton and Warrington are shown arriving - the crowd begin to find their voice for the first time this evening. Cunningham is doing a good job of boxing on the outside as Conlan controls the centre of the ring, but it's the Northern Irishman who is dominating and controlling matters at the moment. Conlan lands a good left before two rights land on the body, and he's just starting to land more meaningful shots now...
...but there's the low blow! Conlan lands another low shot and he loses a point as the referee loses his patience.
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