CARL FRAMPTON will attempt to become Irish boxing’s first three-weight world champ when he faces Jamel Herring this summer.
Promoter Frank Warren yesterday announced the Belfast ace, 33, has agreed terms with the former US Marine, 34, who holds the WBO super-featherweight title.
Carl Frampton is set to do battle with Herring
No date or venue has been announced yet and with the world gripped by the coronavirus pandemic, the former is up in the air.
The Frampton-Herring bout had been slated for June 13 at either Windsor Park or the SSE Arena and fight boss Warren says further news is ‘coming soon’.
Herring — who towered over the Jackal when they met in the ring after Frampton’s win over Tyler McCreary in Las Vegas at the end of 2019 — insists size will matter.
Frampton (27-2) has been a champ at super-bantamweight and featherweight and ‘Semper Fi’ (21-2) told RingTV: “I’m the bigger man and that’s definitely an advantage but I still have to be cautious because Carl has more experience.
“The man isn’t a two-division world champion for nothing. But I honestly feel that he’s in way over his head, which is why I don’t mind going to Belfast.
“The results would be the same if the fight took place in New York.
“I’m not looking past him, but I’m coming into this fight with the mindset that he’s the champion and has something that I want.
HUNGRY FOR SUCCESS
“I’m hungry and I want to keep proving that I’m one of the best junior lightweights in the world.”
Herring admits he is a fan of Frampton’s, who was ESPN and The Ring fighter of the year in 2016 and is joined by Steve Collins and Katie Taylor as an Irish two-weight world
champ. But the military man is still gearing up for war. He added: “I watch footage of everyone in my division, of course I’ve been watching Frampton.
“I’m a student of the game and you can always pick up on things from studying your opponent.
“It’s funny though because I’ve been watching Frampton long before the idea of us facing each other came to mind.
“I like Carl, I’m a fan, and this is just business. There’s never been any ill will towards him and he’s been respectable to me in return.
“It’s like how Kobe Bryant and LeBron James used to compete against each other.
“They were very competitive, but they never had bad blood, so I feel that I don’t have to be nasty or cruel towards Carl.
“Yes boxing is a brutal sport inside the ring, but outside of it, I’ll never jump out of character for anyone, and I believe that’s what has expanded my fan base. But once that bell rings I have to bring out the Marine and go to work.”
However Herring feels the Belfast public might be reluctant to show up to watch the bout because of the outbreak. So he is not afraid of going into Frampton’s backyard, where the home hero enjoys phenomenal support.
The American said: “Honestly it never made a difference in my opinion, but since this coronavirus scare spread like wildfire, I really don’t think it’s going to make much of a difference for anyone.
“I say that because lately people have been afraid to come out and sit in big crowds. Though I feel we’ll get this under control, people will still be hesitant to really show up in huge atmospheres.”
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Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
