By Ian S Palmer
WBO Jr. Lightweight Champion Jamel Herring of Coram, New York will be defending his crown against former world champion Carl Frampton of Belfast, Northern Ireland in Dubai this Saturday, April 3rd. The 12-round bout can be seen on ESPN+ in America while other nations can try to catch it on iFL You Tube channel. The card should start in mid-afternoon ET in North America. Frampton’s last bout resulted in a seventh-round stoppage of Darren Traynor in August while Herring fought in September and won an eighth-round disqualification over Jonathan Oquendo after alleged intentional headbutts.
The 35-year-old Herring enters the ring with a fine record of 22-2 with 10 Kos. The southpaw and former 2012 American Olympian and U.S. Marine won the title from Masayuki Ito via unanimous decision in May, 2019 and then defended it against Lamont Roach by unanimous decision in six months later before meeting Oquendo.
Herring stands 5-feet-10-inches tall with a 70-inch reach and has fought 146 rounds since making his pro debut in 2012 at the age of 27. He served two tours of duty in Iraq with the Marines and has average power with a current knockout ratio of 41.7 per cent. He boxed for the Americans at the 2012 Olympics in London, England, but was beaten in the first round of bouts.
Herring’s first pro loss came at the hands of Denis Shafikov by 10th-round TKO in July, 2016. He then lost two bouts later to Ladarius Miller via an eight-round unanimous decision in August, 2017. Herring has been stopped once and dropped before, but has a pretty sturdy chin. He won the vacant USBA Super Featherweight Crown in September, 2018 with a 10-round unanimous decision over John Vincent Moralde. His biggest wins have been over Oquendo, Ito, Roach, Hector Velazquez, Luis Eduardo Florez and Art Hovhannisyan.
Frampton is now 34 years old and enters the ring with an impressive record of 28-2 with 16 Kos to his name. He’s fought 212 rounds since turning pro in 2009. The ex-Super Bantamweight and Featherweight World Champion champion stands 5-feet-5-inches tall and has a 65-inch reach which puts him at a five-inch disadvantage in both departments against Herring.
He has pretty good, but not overwhelming power as his current knockout ratio stands at 53.3 per cent. The former champ has a fine 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 Josh Warrington, Nonito Donaire, Leo Santa Cruz, Scott Quigg, Kiko Martinez and Steve Molitor.
Frampton is 7-3 with 3 Kos against current and former world champions so has done quite well against upper-class boxers. 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.
His last big outing was in December, 2018 when he dropped a unanimous decision to Josh Warrington in a shot at the IBF Featherweight Title. 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.
Prediction…
I’ve underestimated Herring in the past and won’t do so again, but I did think he took the easy way out against Oquendo, knowing full well he’d keep his title by claiming he wasn’t able to continue after clashing heads with him. He’s a solid but unspectacular pro with good skills and a decent chin who may be one of the most underrated champions out there at the moment. As for Frampton, he was at his peak against Santa Cruz but that was over four years ago. In fact, he’s looked rather ordinary in his last two outings but definitely has the edge in experience. This is a tossup as the odds will show and it may come down to Herring’s size advantage. Fans should expect a good, even fight but if I had to lean one way I think it would be in Herring’s direction with him narrowly holding onto his title.
