NEW YORK (AP) -- Carl Frampton unanimously outpointed previously undefeated champion Leo Santa Cruz on Saturday night to add the WBA super featherweight title to his super bantamweight crown.
Frampton, from Northern Ireland, improved to 23-0. Santa Cruz, from Mexico, dropped to 32-1-1.
At the end of the second round, both fighters received a sustained, roaring ovation from the crowd of 9,062 at Brooklyn's Barclays Center. Santa Cruz and Frampton took turns landing heavy shots in the round, and continued to alternate exchanges for the remainder of the fight.
But despite the ferociousness of the flurries, neither fighter was able to knock down the other.
On the undercard, Mikey Garcia (35-0) dominated Elio Rojas (24-3) in a super lightweight bout, winning via technical knockout at 2:02 of the fifth round.
"We trained for a great performance like this and I was thrilled to get the job done," Garcia said. "I'm looking forward to getting back in there and winning another world title."
Garcia twice knocked Rojas down for standing eight counts in the third round, and dropped his rival again in the fourth and fifth before landing the decisive shot.
To open the main card, Tony Harrison knocked out Sergey Rabchenko with a right at 1:19 of the ninth round. He improved to 24-1 with 20 knockouts. The loss was the second in 29 fights for Rabchenko.
"I'm a finisher," Harrison said. "I had him hurt and I said to (referee Arthur Mercante), `You better not let him go.' I knew I had him beat."
