By CompuBox

Manchester Arena, Manchester, England - Carl Frampton captures Scott Quigg's WBA title and retains his IBF title mostly because his intent was stronger than Quigg's in the first seven rounds, among the most forgettable in 122-pound title annals but ultimately the most impacting.

Quigg said after the fight that he froze and the numbers supported that contention: He didn't throw his first punch until nearly a minute had passed and he didn't land his first power shot until the final minute of round four (a few seconds after Frampton landed his first power shot).

Through six rounds Quigg landed just 11 total punches and averaged an anemic 13.7 per round to Frampton's 39.2 per round and 28 total connects. The fight heated up in the final five rounds and Quigg produced three big rounds (11-1 in the eighth, 16-10 in the 10th and 20-14 in the 11th) to get back into the fight.

That surge enabled Quigg to actually out-land Frampton 85-83 for the fight but Frampton's superior activity (49.3 per round to Quigg's 26.8) and all those quiet rounds in the beginning allowed Frampton to be thought of as the winner, both by observers and two of the judges.

In the end, Frampton won the war because he won the war of nerves, then hung on when the real war broke out. For Quigg, it was his first defeat and it will be one that will be filled with regrets because Quigg simply round out of rounds, and out of time. Scoring: 115-113 Q, 116-112 F (2x).