Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)

A TALL TALE OF THE TAPE

Mccullough: For Carl to become Ireland’s first three-weight world champ would be an incredible story.. yes he’s giving away a lot of height but I still think his superior class will shine through

- BY GARETH FULLERTON

WAYNE MCCULLOUGH believes Carl Frampton will have the measure of Jamel Herring in Dubai tomorrow night.

Frampton is bidding to become Ireland’s first-ever three-weight world champion by toppling WBO world superfeath­erweight king Herring – a man who stands some five inches taller than the Belfast challenger and boasts a significan­t reach advantage.

Much has been said about the size difference between the two men, but former WBC bantamweig­ht world champion Mccullough is confident

Frampton will ultimately rise above his opponent at The Rotunda Caesars Palace Bluewaters.

“I am visualisin­g Carl hurting Herring at some stage in the fight. And if he gets close then he can cause Herring trouble,” Mccullough said.

“If you can hurt someone in a fight, you can get the stoppage. And I would love to see that.

“I just see Carl getting his hand raised, and it will be a great night for him. Becoming the only ever three-weight world champion from Ireland would be incredible.

“The legacy is set for him. He would also become only the fourth fighter in Britain to achieve the feat.

“That is a huge achievemen­t. Legacy like that is massive.

“He just needs to go in, take his time, use the jab and then get the knockout.”

Herring has faced questions over his late arrival in

Dubai, and claims he may be struggling to make weight for the fight.

The champion played down the scrutiny during yesterday’s press conference, but Mccullough says he wouldn’t be surprised if Herring found it tough to shift those last couple of pounds.

“He’s a bit like Tommy Hearns. Not punch wise, but he is tall for the weight class,” Mccullough said.

“Tommy Hearns started as a welterweig­ht at 6ft 1in or something. “Jamel Herring is 5ft 10in, and getting to 9st 4lbs will be tough.he is bound to have trouble getting down to that weight. I have seen him between fights and he seems pretty big.

“It’s not the right way, it is cutting the weight at the last minute.”

Breaking down the fight, Mccullough believes a closequart­ers duel could be Frampton’s best route to victory.

“Herring is a tall guy and southpaw and is rangy, so you have to get close,” he said.

“I have been talking to Carl and if you get close, you nullify that long reach. And if you take that away your opponent doesn’t really have anything else.

“Carl is the right size for super-featherwei­ght. It doesn’t matter about your height, as long as you have the physical attributes in the upper body. And he has that.”

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