By Niall Doran
A little over two years ago a short, stocky & explosive red haired boxer from Belfast came to my attention. I remember seeing Barry McGuigan saying on Sky that he reckoned he had found something really special. I reckon he was right.
Anyone who Barry McGuigan has high praise for and says he will take under his wing to mentor instantly has my attention. Although Barry is not directly coaching Frampton himself (that job is done by son Shane McGuigan very well) he is there to give invaluable advice as one of Ireland’s past legendary fighters.
Carl Frampton has enjoyed a dominant start to his career so far. He has amassed an impressive 15-0 record (10 ko’s). He has been steadily progressed with the difficulty of opposition gradually increased fight by fight. His last fight against former world champion Steve Molitor who at the time was 35-2 was meant to be a very hard test for Carl. Not to be. Frampton took Molitor apart in cold, impressive fashion, stopping him before the halfway point in round 6.
It was then I think Irish & British fight fans really sat up and took notice. I have always been behind him from day one but his next test on paper should be his hardest by far. He fights Kiko Martinez in under two weeks on Feb 9th at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast for the European Title. Many fight fans may recall Martinez was the man who famously knocked out Bernard Dunne in dramatic fashion in the very first round back in 2007. After that he had a couple of close decision losses (noteably to boxing binman Rendall Munroe) but since has reeled off 7 straight wins. So it is fair to say he comes into this fight in terrific form.
Frampton will have to be weary of Kiko early on but the thing I like about Frampton is he seems to be very patient and he doesn’t waste many punches. For a young man with a big knockout punch he also has very good boxing ability to boot. Many times he has boxed going backwards and forwards while also showing good awareness of what’s coming back at him. From what I have watched so far his chin has also passed the test and no doubt it will be tested again against the big hitting Martinez.
Should Carl get passed this test the Super Bantamweight division is full of huge potential match ups. As European champion he could take on long time domestic rival and 2012 British young fighter of the year Scott Quigg. This would be an awesome match up between two very talented undefeated fighters. After that at world level the division is absolutely stacked at the moment. You have the likes of Abner Mares, Guillermo Rigondeaux and 2012 Fighter of the Year – Nonito Donaire.
Carl seems to be a very level headed guy with an extremely good team around him. This combination should result in excellent development over the next few years which I think we will really enjoy watching on our TV screens.
I’ve been wrong before (and will be again) but I truly believe Carl The Jackal Frampton is the next Irish World Champion in the making. Looking forward to being in attendance on Feb 9th. Best of luck to the Jackal!
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