Quon in 60 seconds? Not quite

CARL FRAMPTON was ready to face a bull — so really Mark Quon was just a lamb to the slaughter on Saturday night.
The Aussie was a late replacement when Spanish bruiser Kiko Martinez pulled out.

He fell in four as Frampton took out his frustrations at missing out on the European title.

Instead the Commonwealth crown was on the line and the Belfast Boy was a man on a mission.

Frampton said: “It was comfortable. You have got to give the other guy a lot of credit, he stepped up at late notice when other people didn’t want it. We’ve got this title now, whoever wants to come and try and take it they’re more than welcome. I’d love a fight with Kiko Martinez as well for the European title as well but we have to sit down and talk about it — but I want big fights.”

A right hand over the top sent Quon sprawling — and when he got up, The Jackal was on him like the lethal finisher he is, and the ref saw enough.

The 24-year-old — managed by Barry McGuigan — reckons that performance at the Odyssey stuck up two fingers to critics of his last outing.

That below-par performance came in his clear points win over fellow super-bantamweight Robbie Turley in Cardiff last June.

Frampton made hard work of that fight — but he puts it down to nerves as he was making his debut on Sky Sports.

He added: “I was maybe trying to turn it on a bit. I’ll never make those mistakes again.

Turley was a great learning fight for me to have. Everything just went perfect for me, tonight, after having the hardest training camp of my life. I was preparing for Martinez , I busted my balls really.

“Barry’s been saying a lot of good things about me and people are quick to jump on the bandwagon when you don’t perform to your best. These keyboard warriors like to shout their mouths off so it was up to me to put on a show and I’m glad I did.”

McGuigan added: “I have seen marvellous things in the gym. 

“Not everyone can convert that to the ring but I see things and say them and people go ‘McGuigan’s talking through his backside’ after I said he was the best prospect in 30 years. Maybe I should quantify that — he’s the best kid I’ve seen in that weight division down the years.”

Elsehere on the card, Eamonn O’Kane racked up win No3 in his new professional career.

Ballymena’s Joe Rea took all he had as O’Kane threw power shot after power shot over eights rounds.

He even had enough to land a few nice potshots of his own — but O’Kane was the clear winner.