Frampton to fight at Windsor for fans who missed out on tickets

CARL Frampton says he understands the anger of fans who have missed out on tickets for his eagerly-anticipated homecoming fight.

The 30-year-old will face Mexico’s Andres Gutierrez at the SSE Arena in Belfast on July 29.

But it has been overshadowed by a row about tickets, which sold out within minutes of going on sale last Thursday.

Thousands of fans who missed out were left angry after some tickets appeared on resale websites at vastly-inflated prices.

Frampton said he feels the pain of those left disappointed.

And he pledged that his dream of a blockbuster fight at Windsor Park is still on the agenda.

“Before a ticket went on sale I apologised to my fans that many of them were going to miss out because we had to bring this fight with Andres Gutierrez to the SSE Arena rather than go to Windsor Park,” he wrote in his Sunday Life column. “Some seemed to understand but others felt angry, and I get that.

“I understand their anger at not being able to get a ticket because some of them have been with me from early on in my journey and others wanted to come and see me for the first time in Belfast.

“But, let me make it very, very clear — my plan is to have two good wins and then come back to Windsor Park.”

The July 29 fight against Gutierrez (23), a former WBC Silver featherweight champion, will be Frampton’s first since losing to Leo Santa Cruz in Las Vegas in January. Frampton initially expected to fight Santa Cruz for a third time this summer but it failed to materialise.

The Gutierrez bout will be his first in Belfast in over two years.

But many fans were left disappointed as the fight sold out in record time.

Given the demand, some have questioned why the bout was not staged at Windsor Park, which holds a far larger capacity. But Frampton said it wasn’t an option.

“I wanted to go to Windsor this time but it just wasn’t possible, we just couldn’t get enough entry and exit time for the production team, so it was a bit hard to stomach when some people were having a pop on social media about how they were stitched up because of how quickly the fight sold out,” he added.

Frampton has already hit out at those who have tried to cash in by reselling tickets for profit.