By Ian S Palmer
There’s an intriguing domestic title fight in Manchester England this Saturday, December 22nd as unbeaten IBF World Featherweight Champion Josh Warrington of Leeds, England takes on former world champion Carl Frampton of Belfast, Northern Ireland. The 12-round bout will be shown on ESPN+ in America while fans in the UK and Ireland will have to fork over to BT Box Office pay per view. Warrington won the title in his last outing when he beat Lee Selby by split decision in May. Frampton’s last bout took place in August when he stopped Luke Jackson in the ninth round to retain the interim WBO belt.
The 28-year-old Warrington enters the contest with a perfect record of 27-0 with 6 Kos. Yes, that’s just six stoppages which means he’s not going to possess much of a threat to Frampton when it comes to power with a current knockout ratio of just 22 per cent. He’s 5-feet-7-inches tall with a 67-inch reach.
He turned pro back in 2009 and has boxed 205 rounds since then. As a pro, Warrington has also captured several regional and minor titles including the English, British, Commonwealth, European and WBC International Featherweight Titles.
As mentioned, this is a big domestic fight in the UK and that’s where Warrington has fought all his bouts. He’s faced several of the same opponents as Frampton with his most recognizable foes being Selby, Patrick Hyland, Rendall Munroe, Martin Lindsay, Hisashi Amagasa, Kiko Martinez and Dennis Ceylan. Warrington’s a fine boxer with a solid chin and heart, but his lack of power won’t do him any favours against Frampton. He’ll definitely be motivated though and this could be a closer contest than many predict.
As for Frampton, he’s now 31 years old and enters the ring with an impressive record of 26-1 with 15 Kos to his name. He’s fought 183 rounds since turning pro in 2009. The ex-Super Bantamweight and Featherweight World Champion champion stands 5-feet-5-inches tall and has a 62-inch reach. He’s two inches shorter than Warrington and has a five-inch reach disadvantage. Frampton has pretty good, but not overwhelming power as his current knockout ratio stands at 56 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 Nonito Donaire, Leo Santa Cruz, Scott Quigg, Kiko Martinez and Steve Molitor. He’s gone 7-1 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 still in his prime and 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 Warrington on Saturday as he could be in for a surprise.
Prediction…
The champion has a decent reach advantage and slight edge inheight, but he doesn’t have the power to keep Frampton at bay.Eventually, Frampton will walk through his punches to land his owncombinations. Warrington may have the chin to go the distance, but Idon’t think he has the skills to outbox Frampton and he definitelydoesn’t appear to have the power to stop him. I think Frampton’s tooskilled, powerful and experienced for Warrington.
