‘There was absolutely no way I wasn’t fighting’ – Frampton reveals he fought through pain barrier to set up World title fight
Carl Frampton revealed he fought eight rounds with a factured hand in Las Vegas last night.
‘The Jackal’ returned to the ring for the first time since last December at the Cosmopolitan – and returned to serious form, as he twice dropped previously undefeated American Tyler McCreary en-route to an impressive 100-88 points win.
Speaking after the ESPN+ broadcast bout the Top Rank fighter revealed he entered the fight with his hand still not back to 100 percent after the freak accident that ruled him out of a proposed August return.
In fact the former two time world champion twice fractured the hand in camp, but elected to trade leather nonetheless.
Then during the second round of his first fight in 11 months he hurt it further, meaning he had to somewhat box within himself, which makes the performance and the result all the more impressive.
“My hand wasn’t great coming into the camp as well so it’s always a bit softer hitting a body than a head.
“I feel like I’ve hurt it again in the second round. That’s why it wasn’t the most exciting fight in the world. I just cruised to a points win. I just wanted to be safe with my hands.
“I feel like I’ve probably refractured it. I refractured it twice in the camp but I knew a lot of people were coming here to support me. There was absolutely no way I wasn’t fighting. I did 26 or 28 rounds of sparring because of the hand but I had to fight.”
WBO super featherweight world champion Jemell Herring was ushered to the ring by Bob Arum come post fight formalities time – and it appears the American is next.
Both fighters have talked positively about trading leather in recent weeks- and Belfast has been mentioned as a possible venue for what would be a three weight world title attempt for the Irish fighter.
“I’m not the champion here, he’s the champion,” said Frampton. “If it happens in Belfast, happy days, if it doesn’t and I have to go to New York, I’m keen for that.
“I want to fight for a world title next. I want to be involved in big fights. and I would love the opportunity to fight Jamel.
“This is the first time I’ve met Jamel. My impression of him was that he’s a nice guy and he has lived up to that. I know he’s a champ.”
Photo credit Mikey Williams Top Rank
