Carl Frampton laughs off “nonsense” criticism of his stamina

Carl Frampton [24(14)-1(0)] has laughed off talk of his alleged stamina issues.

Following his comeback win over Horacio Garcia earlier this month, there was talk from some corners that suggested the Belfast featherweight had ‘gassed’ in the fight and that, if it had been a twelve-round bout, that Frampton would have been in trouble.

30 year old Frampton returned after ten months out at the SSE Odyssey Arena, defeating Garcia via unanimous decision.

‘The Jackal’ made an impressively sharp start, however the fight became closer as it went on, with Garcia scoring a dubious seventh round knockdown and finishing strong.

While the scores were 98-93, 97-93, and 96-93 in the Ulsterman’s favour, a sizeable chunk felt that Frampton’s customary strong final round display pulled the win from the fire.

In the post-fight press conference Frampton described how he was dragged into a fight by Garcia and, hoping to entertain the fans, he did not object.

However, the Tiger’s Bay boxer has felt the need to address fears over his stamina.

Writing in his weekly column for the Sunday Life, Frampton said that “I had to laugh at some of the comments about me apparently being exhausted at the end and that I could have been stopped if [the fight] had been 12 rounds.”

“That’s just nonsense.”

Stating his case, Frampton outlined how “first of all, there’s no problem with my engine – after all, I won the last round in a hard-paced 10 rounds.

“Secondly, the reason it may have looked like I was in some way struggling with the pace is because I stayed on the ropes and allowed Garcia to get confidence and look good with the volume of punches he was throwing.”

The increased emphasis on counter-punching is still a work-in-progress for Frampton under new trainer Jamie Moore.

It did not go entirely to plan against Garcia, and the two-weight world champion could feel this during the exchanges.

Frampton recalled how “I had been working in the gym on being against the ropes and countering certain shots that we knew he would throw, but instead of blocking a couple and then firing back and moving away, I was standing there and letting him get off with five or six.”

“I was actually thinking at times during the fight that it was a mistake and if I had been exhausted there’s no way I could have been thinking that clearly.”