Whenever big-time boxing is able to resume, Jamel Herring remains keen on proceeding with the one fight that he believes will allow his career to soar to new heights.
The reigning junior lightweight titlist is due to make his second defense versus Belfast’s Carl Frampton (27-2, 15KOs), a former two-division title claimant from Belfast, Northern Ireland. The two were due to collide on June 13 at Windsor Park in Frampton’s Belfast hometown, but never had a chance to be formally announced in the wake of the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
The pairing remains on the list of bouts to kept intact by Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum, whose Top Rank company represents both fighters. That’s music to the ears of the defending champ, who has been longing for such a high-profile fight.
“I think that solidifies it for me as a super featherweight champion,” Herring (21-2, 10KOs) admitted in an interview with Crystina Poncher, as part of the Catching Up With Crystina YouTube series on Top Rank’s YouTube channel.
Herring nabbed the title in a 12-round decision win over Japan’s Masayuki Ito last May in Kissimmee, Florida. The feat landed on Memorial Day weekend, symbolic to the decorated U.S. Marine who served two tours in Iraq and was named team captain of the 2012 U.S. Olympic boxing team that competed in London.
His first defense was equally as patriotic, if not more so. The 34-year old southpaw from the Coram section of Long Island, New York—who now lives in Cincinnatti, Ohio—outpointed previously unbeaten challenge Lamont Roach Jr. on the Saturday prior to Veteran’s Day last November in Fresno, California.
Three weeks later came the finishing touches for his second defense, as Frampton effortlessly turned away unbeaten featherweight Tyler McCreary in a 10-round bout fought at 128 pounds. The weight stipulation was in place to allow Frampton to get his feet wet in a new division, having previously enjoyed title reigns at 122- and 126-pounds. The 33-year old from Belfast nabbed Fighter of the Year honors in 2016, a campaign which saw him outpoint longtime rival Scott Quigg in their clash of unbeaten junior featherweight titlists that February before handing Leo Santa Cruz his first defeat in lifting the featherweight crown in July of that year.
Frampton suffered his first career defeat in their rematch six months later, adding another defeat in a 12-round decision to unbeaten and reigning featherweight titlist Josh Warrington in his December 2018 bid. He’s since rebounded with the aforementioned win over McCreary, although his reputation was long ago established as an elite-level talent.
“For me, I still think that I have a lot more to prove,” believes Herring, who has won five straight since teaming up with current head trainer Brian ‘Bomac’ McIntyre. “Carl, whether win, lose or draw I feel like his legacy is definitely cemented. He will definitely go down as one of the best fighters to lace a pair of gloves, in my opinion.
"A win here will definitely open up more doors for bigger fights. Me being a Marine, that’s my main thing. I want to be known as one of the best Marines to represent the sport of boxing and just continue to carry on that tradition.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox