Arum: Once This Clears Up, Herring-Frampton Title Fight Can Still Go To Belfast
Apr 27, 2020 • 1:44 PM ET
Bob Arum believes there is still a way to move forward with the junior lightweight title fight between Jamel Herring and Carl Frampton.
What it will require is patience, and perhaps a little bit of compromise on the part of those involved in the event.
“Carl was pushing before all of this happened, for the fight to be outdoors,” the Hall of Fame promoter explained to Top Rank’s Crystina Poncher in an interview as part of the Catching Up With Crystina series on the company’s YouTube channel. “[England-based promoter] Frank Warren—who would be promoting the fight, always wanted the indoor arena in Belfast.”
The bout was due to take place June 13 at Windsor Park, an 18,500-seat football stadium in Frampton’s hometown of Belfast, Northern Ireland. The event itself was never formally announced, instead falling prey to the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Herring—a 34-year old southpaw from Cincinnati, Ohio by way of Coram, New York—has remained fully onboard to stamp his passport for the second defense of his 130-pound title, no matter when the fight takes place.
Frampton enters as a former two-division titlist, looking to further his already lofty place among the greatest fighters ever to come out Northern Ireland. He is afforded hometown advantage for the occasion, just as he was for his 122-pound title-winning effort, a 9th round knockout of Kiko Martinez in their September 2014 rematch at Odyssey Arena (now SSE Hydro) in Belfast.
The venue has come up as a potential relocation site once this fight makes its way back to the boxing schedule. Wherever it takes place, it’s agreed by all parties that the atmosphere to come of the event immediately disqualifies its chances of having to take place behind closed doors.
“Once this clears up and we can go back to doing live fights, I would think we can still go to Belfast,” Arum believes. “They got a really lovely indoor arena that seats 10,000 and that would be perfect for a fight like this.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home.
