By Jeff Aronow: Carl ‘The Jackal’ Frampton will have his career on the line this Saturday, April 3rd, against WBO super featherweight champion Jamel ‘Semper Fi’ Herring at the Caesars Palace Dubai, Dubai. The start time for the Herring vs. Frampton fight card is at 4:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. PT on ESPN+.
Frampton (28-2, 16 KOs) has already said that he plans on retiring if he loses to Herring. Carl wants to capture the ex-Marine Herring’s WBO 130-lb strap and then move forward to become the undisputed champion at super-featherweight.
It’s certainly a tall order for the 34-year-old Frampton, seeing that he would need to beat WBC champion Oscar Valdez, WBA champ Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis, and the eventual winner of the vacant IBF title.
Beating Valdez will be hard enough for Frampton, but to defeat Tank Davis and potentially Shavkat Rakhimov would be a huge ask.
Frampton plans on outboxing Herring
“I feel unbelievable, and I feel the time off his suited me more than Jamel,” said Frampton to SI Boxing with Chris Mannix. “There’s been a lot of delays, and he’s [Herring] been at the weight. He’s been holding the weight for a long time.
“There’s a couple of ways he [Herring] can be beat],” said Frampton. “We saw him lose to Denis Shafikov, who really got on him from start to finish. That’s not the type of fighter I am, though.
“Me and him have completely different styles. I think there will be points in the fight where I can frustrate Jamel Herring and outbox him and out-jab him as well.
How frustrating will it be for the 5’10” Herring to be getting hit with jabs by the 5’5″ Carl Frampton? It’s got to be very, very frustrating,” Frampton said.
It’s going to be strange-looking to see the 5’5″ Frampton out-jabbing the 5’10” Herring, but it’s possible. Herring will leave himself open to Frampton’s jabs when he attempts to land shots.
The only way for Herring not to get hit with Frampton’s jabs is to stay on the outside move all night. Frampton closes the distance quickly with his feet, which is why he can out-jab his taller opponents.
Carl confident of winning
“This is my limit in terms of going up in weight,” said Frampton about him fighting at 130. “Super featherweight is very, very comfortable for me to make.
“I’m too small for lightweight. Some would say that I’m too small for super featherweight, but I don’t believe I am.
“But to have a chance of unifying a second division, which is a realistic option after I beat Jamel Herring. Unifying a second division would be amazing. It’s one fight at a time,” said Frampton.
If Frampton wins on Saturday, he’ll capture his third division world title, making him the first Irish fighter to accomplish that. Frampton has won world titles at 122 and 126.
He won’t attempt to capture a world title at 135, though, because that’s too much weight for his frame.
“Jamel Herring is what I’m thinking about right now. It’s a difficult fight, but I believe I’m going to win it.
“Physically and mentally, I’m in a better place. The last week or so, I’ve been hanging around eight lbs over the weight, which for me is very, very good. I haven’t been trying to lose weight.
Frampton expects Herring to be drained
“I’ve been eating well. Physically and mentally, I’m right where I need to be,” said Frampton. “I’m happy about my preparation and happy about the team that I have behind me.
“I want to win a world title with my new team, and I think I’m going to do it.
“And I know he says he makes the weight easy, but physically it’s not possible to make the weight easy. I think the delays help me, and I’m feeling good, exactly where I need to be.
“I’ve finished up camp, and I’ve got one hard session tomorrow. I’m chomping at the bit to get going, and that’s the way you want to feel on fight week. I had a little twinge in my had six weeks ago, but a little bit of rest sorted that out.
“There will be a few fans in Dubai with the VIP guests, so I’m hoping they make a little bit of noise, so it’s not completely dead,” said Frampton.