Northern Irish fighter Carl Frampton has revealed who hit him hardest out of the 31 men he faced in the ring.
Frampton is a former two-weight world champion who became IBF and WBA super-bantamweight champion after wins over Kiko Martinez and Scott Quigg, before moving up and winning the WBA featherweight title from Léo Santa Cruz in 2016.
‘The Jackal’ then lost in a rematch, in what was one of three defeats he suffered, having also been beaten by Josh Warrington, before his final fight was a stoppage loss against WBO super-featherweight ruler Jamal Herring in 2021.
Speaking to The Ring Magazine for their best I ever faced feature, Frampton admitted that Warrington hit him harder than anyone in his career.
“Kiko was certainly a big puncher. Nonito Donaire, he hit me hard on the arms in the first round and I knew I had to be really cautious the rest of the fight. He nailed me with his left hook, I think in the 11th round, and it really hurt me.
“Cobrita Gonzalez dropped me twice in the first. It was like a real sharp shot rather than raw power. Josh Warrington hit me, and I’ve never felt anything like it, although I didn’t go down, I didn’t know where I was for quite a while. I think Josh Warrington would edge it, in terms of what I felt.”
Former two-time featherweight champion and now 34-year-old Warrington has not yet retired, but is near the end of what has been a glittering career.
He has long chased a rematch with Leigh Wood after losing by KO in the first fight despite arguably being up on the cards at the time. Last time out in April he beat Asad Asif Khan and had standout wins over Frampton and Lee Selby in 2018, Kid Galahad and Kiko Martinez.
