by David P. Greisman
Boxing is a sport in which ethnic and nationalistic loyalty is valuable, in which many countries rally behind their fighters and those of certain descent in the United States will support their brethren.
It’s been that way with, say, Polish fighters in Chicago and the New York/New Jersey area. And Carl Frampton and his promoter, Barry McGuigan, hope it will be that way in America for the junior-featherweight titleholder from Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland has more than 1.8 million people. The country of Ireland, which is not part of the United Kingdom, has another 4.6 million. And while Frampton has become a star back in Northern Ireland, they believe even more is possible on this side of the Atlantic Ocean.
“There’s 27 million people of Irish descent in America. I think that’s on the East Coast,” McGuigan said on a July 9 media conference call in advance of Frampton’s July 18 bout against Alejandro Gonzalez. “We want to get into that market. It’s a great market. We want to get as many people on that side as possible.”
Indeed, according to a 2013 article in The Washington Post:
“There are 34.5 million Americans who list their heritage as either primarily or partially Irish. That number is, incidentally, seven times larger than the population of Ireland itself (4.68 million). Irish is the second-most common ancestry among Americans, falling just behind German New York has the most concentrated Irish population; 12.9 percent of its residents claim Irish ancestry, which compares to a rate of 11.1 percent of the country overall. Boston, meanwhile, claims the most-concentrated Irish population for a city: 20.4 percent.”
So it makes sense, then, that Frampton is targeting a fight in the Northeastern United States along with bouts back home.
“We want to be fighting on the East Coast, New York, Madison Square Garden, the new Barclays Center, them sort of places. Boston, potentially, as well. There’s … a good chance my next fight could be in the UK and Ireland again, and then we’d be looking to go to New York,” Frampton said. “I think that’s where my American fan base will be, mainly, on the East Coast. It’s all well and good winning fights, but I think what the Americans and boxing fans want to see is exciting fighters. I think I’ve got the style to please them.”
Yet Frampton’s debut in the United States will be taking place in El Paso, Texas, not at all a hotspot for the Irish-American population. His bout with Gonzalez will be part of a late afternoon/early evening doubleheader on CBS preceded by a bout between heavyweights Chris Arreola and Fred Kassi. The card is part of a day-night show, with a Showtime broadcast emanating from the same arena later that night and featuring Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. against Marcos Reyes.
And the timing actually works out in Frampton’s favor back home, he says. As a matinee show in the United States, his bout will likely begin in Northern Ireland at about 10 p.m. or 10:30 p.m. local time.
Frampton is 20-0 with 14 KOs. He won his world title with a decision over Kiko Martinez in September and then defended it this past February with a stoppage of Chris Avalos.
Gonzalez, 22, is 25-1-2 with 15 KOs, with that lone loss coming by technical decision against Juan Alberto Rosas back in April 2104. Gonzalez has won three in a row since.
Pick up a copy of David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide . Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com