By Jake Donovan

Carl Frampton realized his dream of winning a major title, dropping Kiko Martinez in round five en route to a unanimous decision win Saturday evening in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Scores were 119-108 (twice) and 118-11 in favor of Frampton, who picks up the IBF 122 lb. title with the win. 

A war was fully expected and eventually transpired, but both fighters were cautious in the opening round. Frampton spent most of the round measuring up Martinez, who scored with power shots towards the end of a relatively close round.

Frampton picked up the pace in round two, willingly engaging Martinez in the war that the defending champion sought. From there, the local favorite began to pile up the rounds.

The lone knockdown of the bout came late in round five. Frampton connected with an uppercut but missed with a left hook. Just when Martinez thought he dodged a bullet, a right hand came crashing home to put him on a knee. 

In addition to the knockdown, Martinez was also forced to contend with a cut outside of his left eye. It never truly became a factor, nor did the knockdown for that matter. The final scores indicated that Frampton had plenty of room to win. Martinez didn't pay it any mind, instead plowing forward during the middle rounds to create two-way action for the first time in the fight. 

Their first fight last February saw Martinez competitive in spots before succumbing in nine rounds. This time, the visiting Spaniard showed heart and resillience, coming on strong late, including an onslaught in round ten that suggested perhaps a miracle finish was in store.

Frampton put that to rest, unloading in the championship rounds. A seemingly endless flurry of punches saw the unbeaten challenger at his best in round 11, enough to where he could've stood in a corner for the entire 12th round and still won with room to spare.

There would be no playing it safe for Frampton, who was determined to give the partisan crowd of 16,000 an epic finish. The knockout never came, but every fan in attendance was given their money's worth and then some.

That Martinez lasted the full 12 rounds is a testament to his reputation as a terror for just about any 122 lb. fighter on the planet. On this particular night, it was only enough to draw blood and sweat from Frampton, but losing for the second time in as many tries to the Belfast brawler in the process.

With the win, Frampton moves to 19-0 (13KOs). Showdowns with fellow unbeaten titlists Scott Quigg and Leo Santa Cruz have been in high demand, but mandatory obligations have him looking at a showdown with Chris Avalos by year's end.

A four-fight win streak - all by knockout - comes to an end for Martinez, who falls to 31-5 (23KOs). 

The bout aired live on BoxNation TV in the United Kingdom and on AWE in the United States.

UNDERCARD

Middleweight Eamonn O'Kane (13-1-1, 5KOs) survived a first round knockdown and retained the IBF Inter-Continental title with a fourth round technical draw with Virgilijus Stapulionis (23-3-1, 16KOs), due to an accidental clash of heads.

Super flyweight contender Jamie Conlan (13-0, 8KOs) won a ten round unanimous decision over Jose Estrella (14-6). The scores were 97-93, 97-93 and 99-92.

Featherweight contender Willie Casey (16-3, 9KOs) grabbed his third win in a row with a six point decision over George Gachechiladze (15-12-1). The sole score was 60-54 by referee Paul McCullagh. Casey is rebuilding his career after suffering a ninth round TKO to rising contender Marco McCullough last October.