Will Carl Frampton prove too strong for Jamel Herring?
Carl Frampton will go toe-to-toe with Jamel Herring in London later this month and the latter’s WBO super featherweight title will be on the line. For Frampton it could be a case of drinking in the last chance saloon. The Belfast boxer has lost his last two world title fights, but this is a great opportunity to become the first fighter from the island of Ireland to win a belt at three different weight classes, and he has his eyes firmly on the prize as another defeat would almost certainly spell an end to his career.
“I’m delighted to finally get a date nailed down for this fight that has now been talked about for over a year,” Frampton said upon the announcement of the fight last month.
“I have the utmost respect for Jamel as a fighter and as a man but there is nobody stopping me on becoming the island of Ireland’s only ever three-weight world champ, one of Britain’s only ever three-weight world champions and potentially have one foot in the hall of fame.”
For Herring, this will be the third defence of his WBO super featherweight title. However, ‘The Jackal’ largely outweighs the challengers he has faced in the past, and that is why it comes with little surprise that the Northern Irishman is the heavy favourite in the Frampton vs Herring odds.
The American avoided an upset against Lamont Roach Jr. in his first title defence back in November 2019. He was badly wobbled by the challenger in the 11th round, but with Roach unable to finish him off, Herring held on to win on points, whilst his most recent defence against Jonathan Oquendo ended in his favour via disqualification for the challenger.
Herring hasn’t shied away from the fact that his inaugural bout outside of the United States against Frampton will be the biggest fight of his career thus far. However, that hasn’t dented his confidence either and he is sure that he will be returning to his home city of New York with his WBO title still in his possession.
“It’s time to ruin plans and crush dreams,” the former US marine said. “First it was my size, now they’re worrying about who I’m sparring with. Last I checked, I didn’t know Terence Crawford and I were sparring to kill each other.
“Just be ready to fight when the bell rings. I’m focused over here and I’m cooler than the other side of the pillow. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone soon. I’m excited to jump into a huge matchup. I’ll focus and ignore all distractions.”
‘The Jackal’s’ last two world title defeats are somewhat of a red flag. However, it’s worth noting that, with all due respect, Léo Santa Cruz and Josh Warrington have posed tougher challenges than that of Herring.
Frampton is going to be a massive step up from what the 35-year-old is used to. In his 24 bouts thus far, Herring has rarely been challenged, and a former two-weight world champion like Frampton could prove to be a step too far for the American.
One thing that could help Herring, however, is his substantial height advantage. At 5’10”, the American is a huge five inches taller than his challenger, whilst he also boasts a much longer reach of 70 inches compared to Frampton’s 62.
So, if he can keep The Jackal at arm’s length, and avoid any real damage, then he could jab his way to victory on the scorecards, as he did to win the title against Masayuki Ito in 2019.
However, Frampton is a very experienced fighter, and if he is at his best on February 27th, then there’s no reason why he shouldn’t prove to be too strong for Herring. There’s a lot at stake for The Jackal, and he certainly won’t want to end his career on a whimper.
