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Carl Frampton promises to knock Luke Jackson unconscious


The persistent verbal jibes of Luke Jackson have certainly riled Carl Frampton.

Indeed, so miffed is ‘The Jackal’ that he wants to render his upcoming opponent unconscious.

Frampton [25(14)-1(0)] faces the Aussie at Windsor Park in Belfast on Saturday August 18th, putting his WBO interim belt on the line ahead of a planned showdown with IBF champ Josh Warrington in Manchester in December.

The challenge of Jackson [16(7)-0] has been written off by many but the untested Tasmanian has managed to add plenty of spice to an apparent one-sided match-up.

The London Olympian has taken aim at Frampton’s amateur credentials, his preparations, and even stated his belief that the 31-year-old is over the hill and this has only served to anger the home favourite.

Frampton, who famously doled out a sustained beating to the mouthy Chris Avalos, is promising something similar for Jackson.

The Tiger’s Bay boxer admitted that “he has annoyed me enough to want to flatten him and put him out cold, properly.”

“I haven’t knocked anybody out in a long time, but Luke Jackson is a guy who is going to get knocked out.”

33-year-old Jackson’s career best win saw him score a competitive points win over Humberto De Santiago – the same opponent stopped in three rounds by Jono Carroll last November.

Therefore, in the absence of any notable professional achievements, there has been a lot of focus on the WBO #5’s amateur career.

The Olympian won two golds and a silver at the Oceania Championships and a bronze at the Commonwealth Games but Frampton believes these achievements need to be put into context.

“His amateur career wasn’t even that good when you look at it,” reasoned Frampton.

“Let’s not forget he is based in Australia. If Australia sent a 10-man team to box an international against Ireland they would get beaten 10-0 and that’s a fact.”

“The reason Australia can send almost a full team to the Olympics is because they box Fiji, Samoa and Tonga.”

“It is a lot easier qualifying process compared to what Ireland and GB have to go through for the Olympics.

Regardless, Frampton, who had a strong amateur career himself, believes that achievements in the vest count for little in the pros.

“He keeps talking about his amateur career. Who cares what he did as an amateur?” the two-weight world champion asked. “He isn’t Vasyl Lomachenko.”

“This is professional boxing and it’s almost a different sport. He will see on the night.”

dpg

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Joe O'Neill

Reporting on Irish boxing the past five years. Work has appeared on irish-boxing.com, Boxing News, the42.ie, and local and national media. Provide live ringside updates, occasional interviews, and special features on the future of Irish boxing. email: joneill6@tcd.ie

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