I’ll prove I still belong at top level: Frampton
HUNGRY Carl Frampton is eager to show that he still belongs with the elite when facing unbeaten Tyler McCreary in the early hours of Sunday morning.
It has been a long 12 months for the Jackal. Since losing in the British Fight of the Year to Josh Warrington, Frampton has briefly contemplated retiring and suffered a freak hand injury that ruled him out of a return to the ring in the summer but is now ready to step back through the ropes.
He knows that in some quarters there may be doubts over whether or not he remains an elite fighter having spent such a significant time out of the ring and three months away from his 33rd birthday.
But the former world super-bantamweight and featherweight champion says the desire burns as brightly as ever, insisting that 2020 could be another special year in his boxing career.
Indeed, Frampton believes that he could reach for history by clashing with American Jamel Herring for his WBO World super-featherweight title — an opportunity to become the first boxer from the Emerald Isle to win belts in three divisions.
“There’s no lack of hunger with me and the way I have been working in the gym I know I’ve still got an awful lot more to offer at the highest level,” said Frampton.
“I believe that at featherweight or super-featherweight, at my best, I can beat anyone and it has been encouraging for me to see how I finished off my last week of sparring.
“There has been quite a bit of talk about me being out for a year and whether or not that will have an effect on my performance but let’s get it right, I haven’t been sitting on my backside doing nothing.
“I had a full camp ahead of my proposed fight in Philadelphia which was called off after I suffered that broken hand by a falling pillar in my hotel. While it was very frustrating that I didn’t fight, I still had some great work and the things I’ve been working on continued in this camp.
“My engine has been great in sparring and I believe I’m ready to put in a big performance. I want my next fight to be a world title fight so it’s important to go and deliver a top performance.
“That’s why I’m still in this business, to win world titles and at the moment the man who is calling me out is the WBO super-featherweight champion Jamel Herring.
“That seems to be the obvious route to another world title shot at the moment, and it would offer me the chance to become a threeweight world champion. If that happened, I feel I would have a good argument to go down as the greatest fighter to come from this island.
“That would be an incredible legacy and one that I would be very proud of.”
While Frampton is seeking to take a further step towards capping an incredible career with one more tremendous feat, he is aware that for McCreary this is the opportunity of a lifetime.
Unbeaten in 17 fights, the man from Ohio has not mixed in the company Frampton has become used to but at 5ft 9in he has the height and reach to make life awkward for the former world champion.
“Maybe McCreary is helping himself to sleep well at night believing that I’m overlooking him but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m not taking him lightly at all,” added Frampton.
“I want to put in a performance that I can be proud of. This guy tries to box a bit like Floyd Mayweather but there’s only one Mayweather. I’ll be ready for whatever he brings. I just feel I’m a level above him.”