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
Murray vs N'DamHassan N'Dam beats Martin Murray by majority decision 114-114, 117-112, 116-112
Martin Murray suffered defeat against Hassan N'Dam
Murray vs N'DamMurray looks bemused in the ring there and genuinely believes he won the fight, but N'Dam celebrates emphatically.
The Independent columnist Steve Bunce admits that could be the end for Martin Murray:
Martin looked a little bit wrong, it was a tight, technical fight. At 36, if he were to walk away now, he has left a massive footprint on British boxing.
Next up it's what promises to be a feroucious affair between Mark Heffron and Liam Williams, an Anglo-Welsh bout that saw a fiery weigh-in boil over yesterday.
Williams vs HeffronHere we go, this one should be a fiesty encounter, though they do touch gloves before the opening bell.
Williams vs HeffronRound one: Williams gets in an early shot on Heffron as he lands a straight left, and Williams looks very comfortable in there as he dominates the opening exchanges, landing a second good punch with a left hook on the side of the head.
Williams vs HeffronRound two: A clash of heads leads to a strange pause as both men hold their foreheads, although neither look to be cut and the fight continues. A second head clash leads to an angry exchange as Heffron reacts furiously and the referee calls for both men to stop it, but Williams quickly gets back on the front foot and lands a good right. Heffron sticks his tongue out to tease Williams on the bell, but he's probably lost that round too.
Williams vs HeffronRound three: For all the bad blood in the lead up to this one, neither man has shown signs of a knockout yet. Willias goes on the attack with a bunch of punches to the body before switching upstairs, and Heffron wears a solid jab too. This time on the bell it's Williams who steps towards Heffron and roars to antagonise his opponent.
Williams vs HeffronRound four: Heffron goes for it late on but Williams is doing a good job of making him miss and countering, with a stron left to the body doing some damage.
Williams vs HeffronRound five: Williams is spending most of the fight on the outside, but just like we saw with N'Dam in the previous bout, utilisiing good movement can open up plenty of opportunities to do damage. He lands a goodstraight left and Heffron can't get close to the Welshman at all.
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