Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
GREAT TRAYN ROBBERY
Frampton: My career could be pinched from under my nose!
CARL FRAMPTON accepts his career will be over if he suffers a shock defeat to Darren Traynor on his lightweight debut on Saturday night. Scottish fighter Traynor has been drafted in at late notice after a showdown with Armenian Vahram Vardanyan fell through.
And the Jackal accepts there’s no room for error as he prepares for a potential world title clash with WBO super featherweight champion Jamel Herring later this year. Frampton – whose last outing was in November – and Herring were expected to meet in Belfast in June but that fight fell through due to the coronavirus crisis.
“We had it sorted for June 13 but obviously with everything going on globally, it couldn’t happen,” he said.
“Hopefully it can happen and that’s not me taking my eye off the ball. I need to win this fight because if I lose, my career is over. Where do I go from here at this stage? I’m not prepared to do that. I can’t be complacent for a second and I won’t be.”
While Frampton will be a huge favourite against Traynor, the Belfast fighter is taking nothing for granted.
“I actually think Darren is better than the original opponent and he has fought at a higher level,” he said. “This is also a higher weight division and it’s my first fight at lightweight. “He’s been training for a number of weeks on the off chance there would be problems with Vardanyan’s visa or the virus, so it’s not going to be an easy fight.
“He’s coming here with nothing to lose but I’m really looking forward to putting on a good show.”
Traynor, who has a 163-0 record and is a former twoweight Scottish champion, lost to Belfast’s James Tennyson in a brutal three round scrap at the SSE Arena in 2017.
Frampton said: “Tennyson knocked him out in the third but he almost dropped Tennyson in the second before Tennyson cleaned him out.”
Also featuring on the BT Sport card is fellow Belfast boxer Michael Conlan who is taking on former world featherweight title challenger Sofiane Takoucht. Conlan will defend his 13fight unbeaten record against the Frenchman.