Carl Frampton announces retirement after loss to Jamel Herring

By Boxing News - 04/03/2021 - Comments

By Barry Holbrook: Carl Frampton made it official that he’s retiring from the sport after his loss on Saturday night to Jamel ‘Semper Fi’ Herring. Frampton was decked in the sixth round from a perfectly placed uppercut from Herring at the Ceasars Palace in Dubai, UAE.

Frampton 28-3, 16 KOs) gave it his best shot, but he wasn’t good enough to make up the size differential against the 5’10” WBO super featherweight champion Herring (23-2, 11 KOs) and wound up losing by a sixth-round knockout.

Herring had too much size for Frampton

Out-sized and outgunned, the former two-division world champion Frampton, 34, was pulled out by his corner in the sixth round shortly after he’d been knocked down by Herring from a hard uppercut.

Frampton was taking ceaseless punishment by Herring, who was intent on finishing the job.

Carl was trying his level best to get in range to land his shots, but he was battling a too big guy for him. In the fourth, Frampton had a brief glimmer of hope when Herring was cut over his right eye from a punch.

YouTube video

That hope was dashed in the fifth when Frampton walked into a straight left from herring that put him down on the seat of his pants.

Herring’s victory, which is easily the best of his career, puts him on a crash course with WBC super featherweight champion Oscar Valdez for a unification fight later this year. That’s the fight that Frampton wanted, but it’s no longer possible.

While it may seem like a premature move by Frampton to retire from boxing when he’s still capable of winning titles if he returns to the featherweight division, he doesn’t see it as motivating enough to return to the weight class.

Carl Frampton announces his retirement

I said before the fight I’d retire if I lost, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I want to just to dedicate my life to my family now. Boxing has been good to me,” said Frampton after his disappointing loss to Herring.

“It’s also been bad to me, but the last few years with these boys have been the best years of my career. I just want to go home to my beautiful wife and kids, and that’s it.

“And I just got beat by the better man. I really struggled to get inside on him.”

With how older fighters are coming out of retirement left and right to earn millions in boxing, we may see Frampton return to the ring in the future.

If there’s a demand by fans to see Frampton again, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him come back at a later date for the right amount of money and opponent.

It was a big ask for Frampton to move up to 130 to take on the tallest of the champions in the weight class. But he would have likely had the same results if he’s faced WBC super featherweight champion Oscar Valdez, WBA champions Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis, and Roger Gutierrez.

The 5’5” Tank Davis is the same height as Frampton, but he would still likely have beaten him if he’d been in there with him tonight instead of Herring.

Tank would likely destroy Herring as well, which shows you what Frampton would have been up against if he’d chosen a different path to try and become a three-division world champion.

Frampton has a lot to be proud of with his 12-year pro career, as he’s done a lot that most fighters could only dream bout. Not only has Frampton captured world titles in two weight classes, but he’s beaten many solid fighters along the way.