WORLD-TITLE CONTENDER FRAMPTON CLAIMS SECOND AWARD

CARL FRAMPTON was today presented with the Boxer of the Year award for 2013 by the Irish Boxing Writers’ Association (IBWA).

The award follows the 27-year-old’s European-title win over Kiko Martinez and successful title defence against Jeremy Parodi in 2013, with both fights ending in knockout victories.

The recently-revived IBWA voted for the Belfast super-bantamweight to retain the Boxer of the Year plaque after he claimed the same gong for 2012. Frampton was previously named Prospect of the Year by the IBWA in 2009.

His two-in-a-row triumph sees him emulate Neil Sinclair (2000, 2001) and he is now looking to overhaul two-weight world champion Steve Collins, who won four awards on the trot between 1994 and 1997.

Frampton said: “It’s great to win the award two years in a row, I’m very happy with that. If I win the world title and defend it in the meantime, I’ll be hoping to make it a hat-trick next year. Then I’ll do my best to catch up with Steve Collins.”

‘The Jackal’, who is a 1/14 favourite to beat Mexico’s Hugo Cazares in their WBC world-title eliminator on Friday night at Belfast’s Odyssey Arena, expects to challenge for world honours later this year. He wins the 2013 Boxer of the Year award with Dublin lightweight and WBO European champion Stephen Ormond the runner-up.