Carl Frampton hasn’t factored Jamel Herring’s most recent performance all that much into his preparation for their junior lightweight title fight Saturday night in Dubai.
Frampton figures Herring’s battle with COVID-19 last summer and two postponements impacted how Herring fought against Jonathan Oquendo on September 5 in Las Vegas. Herring defeated Oquendo by disqualification because referee Tony Weeks determined that the cut above Herring’s right eye that ultimately prevented Herring from continuing was caused by Oquendo’s intentional head-butt during the fifth round.
Even if Weeks ruled that Herring’s cut was the result of an accidental clash of heads, the WBO junior lightweight champion would’ve won a technical decision because he was way ahead on the scorecards through eight rounds (80-70, 80-70, 79-71). Nevertheless, Belfast’s Frampton (28-2, 16 KOs) didn’t see the best version of Herring in an ugly main event ESPN aired from MGM Grand Conference Center.
“It wasn’t brilliant,” Frampton told BoxingScene.com, “but I don’t wanna look too much into that because I’m sure Jamel could pick apart my own performance against Darren Traynor [a seventh-round technical knockout win August 15 in London]. It wasn’t great, either. It wasn’t a bad performance [from Herring]. Underwhelming, but I think that the fact that he had COVID and the delays and the postponements, and the lack of crowd, which I feel like I feel affected me in the Traynor fight, I feel like that may have played a part [in Herring’s performance]. … It wasn’t a brilliant performance. I don’t think he would disagree with that. But I would say my own one wasn’t brilliant, either.”
Cincinnati’s Herring (22-2, 10 KOs) took criticism from some fans who claimed that the 2012 U.S. Olympian wanted out of what was becoming a difficult fight with Puerto Rico’s Oquendo (31-7, 19 KOs) before the start of the ninth round.
Herring told his trainer, Brian McIntyre, and Weeks that he couldn’t see out of his right eye after he returned to his corner following the eighth round. There temporarily appeared to be confusion in Herring’s corner because McIntyre and Herring weren’t sure if he would’ve lost because he told Weeks and a ringside physician that he couldn’t continue.
“It was a strange one,” Frampton said, “and I don’t wanna really comment too much on it because I wasn’t in that situation and my opinion doesn’t really count. He was well ahead in the fight and, although he took a little bit of flak, I think it was probably a sensible thing to do. If you’re so ahead in the fight and knowing an accidental head clash caused the cut, then I think he probably done the right thing. But I understand why people look at that and think he found an easy way out.”
ESPN+ will stream Herring-Frampton as the main event of a five-fight show Saturday from Caesars Bluewaters Dubai, a resort in the United Arab Emirates’ most populous city. Coverage is scheduled to begin on ESPN+ at 2 p.m. ET and 11 a.m. PT.
Oddsmakers have listed Frampton, 34, as a slight favorite to beat Herring, 35, in their 12-round, 130-pound title fight.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
