By Ian S Palmer
Former world champion Carl Frampton of Belfast, Northern Ireland will be taking on unbeaten Tyler McCreary of Toledo, Ohio in a 10-round junior lightweight battle this Saturday, November 30th. The fight from Las Vegas can be seen live in the USA on ESPN+ while those in the UK can check it out on BT Sport 1. Frampton’s last bout resulted in a unanimous decision loss to IBF World Champion Josh Warrington last December. McCreary last boxed in August when he beat Jessie Cris Rosales by an eight-round split decision.
Frampton is now 32 years old and enters the ring with an impressive record of 26-2 with 15 Kos to his name. He’s fought 195 rounds since turning pro in 2009. The ex-Super Bantamweight and Featherweight World Champion stands 5-feet-5-inches tall with a 62-inch reach. Frampton has pretty good, but not overwhelming power as his current knockout ratio stands at 54 per cent. He’s also got a decent chin, but has been on the canvas before. Frampton’s also a former European and Commonwealth Champion who enjoyed a fine amateur career.
His biggest-name opponents so far have been Warrington, Nonito Donaire, Leo Santa Cruz, Scott Quigg, Kiko Martinez and Steve Molitor. He’s gone 7-2 with 3 Kos against current and former world champions so has done quite well when stepping up in class. Of course, he’s best known for his pair of classic bouts against Santa Cruz in which he won the WBA Super World Featherweight crown by majority decision in July, 2016 and then lost it via a majority decision in their rematch six months later.
Frampton’s a solid boxer with a good arsenal of punches and isn’t one to lose his concentration in the ring. He’s quite accurate with his shots, doesn’t waste many of them and uses his jab to set up straight right hands and left hooks. He’s comfortable leading the way or counterpunching and his power is somewhat underrated. He’s no longer in his prime but most fans would like to see him meet Santa Cruz again in a rubber match. But that being said, he can’t underestimate and overlook McCreary on Saturday or he could be in for a surprise.
McCreary is just 26 years old and has boxed 77 rounds since making his pro debut in 2014. He owns a near-perfect record of 16-0-1 with 7 Kos. He’s not known as a big hitter and carries around a current knockout ratio of 41.2 per cent. The only blemish on his record is a six-round majority draw with Roberto Castaneda in March. McCreary stands 5-feet-9-inches tall with an unlisted reach so has a four-inch height advantage on Frampton.
McCreary has been boxing since he was 10 years old and went 87-15 as an amateur with 46 Kos. He captured the Title National Championship in 2009 and 2010 as well as a bronze medal at the Under-19 National Championships. He was also a two-time Toledo Golden Glove Champion and and Ohio State Junior Olympics Titlist. McCreary hasn’t met any top contenders as of yet with his biggest wins coming over Rosales, Gustavo Molina and Jonathan Perez.
Prediction…
This is obviously a confidence builder for Frampton and a payday. It’s nothing more really as a win over McCreary isn’t really going to prove much. Frampton will need to get inside due to the height difference but he’s still a legitimate world class contender and shouldn’t have a problem emerging with a victory. However, he hasn’t fought for close to a year as his bout in August was called off due to an injury so there may be some ring rust.
