Frampton is the best in world but why have we not been won over?
SINCE its inception in the early 1920s, The Ring has charted the course of boxing history. The venerable boxing magazine made the odd mis-step, such as withholding the 1966 Fighter of the Year award from Muhammad Ali because of his opposition to the Vietnam War and occasionally flirted with extinction but in an age when traditional media struggles to be relevant, The Ring still carries heft.
The roll of honour for its Fighter of the Year is a window into boxing’s glorious past. Joe Louis. Sugar Ray Robinson. Ali. Sugar Ray Leonard. Marvin Hagler. Mike Tyson. Just some of the names that Carl Frampton’s will now sit beside. Being the first Irish fighter to win this prestigious award was a big deal although it didn’t seem like that here.
Frampton was the best boxer in the world last year and recognised as such by The Ring, ESPN and countless other American websites. He became a two-weight world champion (Steve Collins is the only other Irish fighter to do that) and he beat two previously undefeated world champions in Scott Quigg and Santa Cruz.
And yet when it came to the vote for the RTÉ sports person of the year, the public, blinded by Conor McGregor’s bombast, ignored these remarkable achievements. At least, Frampton made that shortlist. He was nowhere to be seen on BBC’s list of candidates for sports personality of the year, something that the North’s outgoing First Minister Arlene Foster referred to in Stormont.
It’s hard to believe that with such an exceptional athlete, at the very pinnacle of his sport, in our midst, that he is not celebrated more.
If Frampton confirms his superstar status by beating Santa Cruz in their eagerlyanticipated rematch next Saturday, will it even cause a ripple in the Republic?
Ireland’s last two world champions, Andy Lee and Bernard Dunne, both agree that if Frampton (right) continues to improve, he will be the best boxer to ever emerge from this island. So why is he nearly invisible in much of it?
‘It is hard to know what the reason is,’ says Lee. ‘He is one of the best pound-forpound fighters in the world, and still hasn’t got that much of a following in the Republic. And he is Irish, he has fought for Ireland.’
The border, it seems, plays a part. His mentor, Barry McGuigan clearly sensed this. Six years ago, he brought a fresh-faced Frampton onto the Late Late Show and urged people ‘down south’ to get behind the fighter. Despite respect for Frampton’s achievements though, there has been little public affection.
McGuigan appealed to both sides of the bitter divide at a grim period of the Troubles. But this island in the mid1980s were holding out for a hero like that. Things have changed. Frampton’s own back story of growing up in the UDA stronghold of Tiger’s Bay and marrying a Catholic girl no longer holds the interest it once did.
Other sport stars have managed to overcome the impact of the border. Rory Best who has led our rugby team so magnificently is now one of our most-loved athletes while Rory McIlroy fascinates with everything he does. But they seem to be the exceptions, rather than norm
Frampton climbed the ladder mainly in Belfast, Perhaps, if he had fought in Dublin, he would have
garnered a better following. However it’s worth remembering that McGuigan only fought three times in the south during his pro career – Dalymount Park, Navan’s exhibition centre and the RDS – but it didn’t affect his popularity.
Frampton has also fought mainly on pay-television. Dunne points out when he was selling out Dublin’s Point on his way to becoming world super bantamweight champion, he was on RTÉ. ‘Carl’s fights have generally been on pay-television. It becomes harder to appeal to the non-boxing fan. The trade-off is that they get bigger purses with payTV but they don’t get as widely seen,’ Dunne explains. The more casual sports fans remains oblivious to what Frampton is doing. But that might be about to change.
‘He is already one of the greatest fighters to ever emerge from Ireland and he may eventually go on to be the greatest,’ Dunne says. ‘He is only getting better. Going back into the Lion’s Den to defend his belt against Santa Cruz shows that nothing fazes him.’
Lee agrees: ‘At a time when so many boxers are being protected and ducking opponents, Carl took the rematch with Santa Cruz and he did it it not far from Santa Cruz’s stronghold. That says everything you need to know about Carl Frampton. He is a true champion and he is someone that should be celebrated.’
If he beats Santa Cruz next weekend, it will confirm Frampton as something special.
The shame is that so many south of the border won’t realise what a remarkable sports star we have in our midst.