Jamel Herring puts Carl Frampton down twice, stops him in Round 6

Jamel Herring put Carl Frampton down twice and then stopped him in Round 6 to retain his 130-pound title on Saturday in Dubai.

Jamel Herring, a late bloomer, gave the best performance of his career at 35 years old.

The WBO 130-pound titleholder overcame a bad cut to dominate former two-division champ Carl Frampton before stopping him in the sixth round Saturday night at Caesars Bluewaters in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The victory was particularly gratifying for Herring (23-2, 11 KOs) after some suggested he quit in his most-recent outing, in which Jonathan Oquendo was disqualified for headbutting.

“It was an emotional roller coaster just getting here,” Herring said afterward. “My last outing wasn’t my best. People doubted me, they called me every name in the book. But even with the cut, I wasn’t going to give up, I wasn’t going to quit. … It was a great night.”

The fight was postponed three times, which made it difficult for both boxers. On top of that, Herring had to deal with his critics, who questioned his decision to tell the referee he couldn’t see instead of persevering in the Oquendo fight.

Well, none of that seemed to be on Herring’s mind on Saturday. If anything, it seemed to motivate him.

Herring, who had a significant height and reach advantage over Frampton, used his length to control the fight in the early rounds. His jab served as a barrier through which it was difficult for Frampton to pass. And when he did, he was met with crisp, accurate punches.

Then, in Round 4, things changed after it became clear that Herring was cut above the right eye – the same place as the Oquendo fight – early in the round. Suddenly the champion and challenger engaged in a fire fight, which allowed Frampton to do good work.

However, Herring, perhaps determined to show that he could fight through the cut, often got the better of inside exchanges.

The action continued in Round 5 until a straight left hand put Frampton on his behind about midway through the round. He seemed to be stunned by the punch but survived the remainder of the round.

Then, in the sixth, the two gave fans a phone-booth brawl until Herring sealed Frampton’s fate with the biggest punch of the fight, a left hook that rocked Frampton and put him on his back.

Frampton was able to get up but was easy prey. Herring landed a series of follow-up punches in attempt to put Frampton away before his corner finally screamed at the referee to stop the fight. And he did. The official time was 1:40 of Round 6.

Frampton had no excuses afterward.

“I just got beat by the better man,” he said. “I really struggle dto get inside him. He was sharpshooting from a distance, he had the perfect game plan. I have zero excuses.

“I had an amazing camp. I came into this fight to win it. I was just beaten by the better man.”

Frampton, 34, who was trying to become the first Irishman to win titles in three divisions, had said before the fight that he’d walk away from boxing if he lost. And they weren’t mere words.

“I said before I would retire if I lost this fight and that’s exactly what I’m going to do,” he said. “I wanted to dedicate this fight to [late trainer] Billy McKee and my whole career to my wife and my kids. They’ve made such sacrifices. I’ve been away so long. I’ve missed them growing up, my own kids.

“I want to dedicate my life to my family now. … I just want to go home to my wife and kids.”

Of course, Herring can now build off his spectacular performance. The WBO had ordered the winner of Saturday’s fight to face No. 1 contender Shakur Stevenson, assuming Stevenson defeats Jeremiah Nakathila next month.

If that fight happens, the doubters, swayed by Stevenson’s remarkable gifts, will be out again. And Herring will be that much more motived.

Jamel Herring puts Carl Frampton down twice, stops him in Round 6

Jamel Herring put Carl Frampton down twice and then stopped him in Round 6 to retain his 130-pound title on Saturday in Dubai.

Jamel Herring, a late bloomer, gave the best performance of his career at 35 years old.

The WBO 130-pound titleholder overcame a bad cut to dominate former two-division champ Carl Frampton before stopping him in the sixth round Saturday night at Caesars Bluewaters in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The victory was particularly gratifying for Herring (23-2, 11 KOs) after some suggested he quit in his most-recent outing, in which Jonathan Oquendo was disqualified for headbutting.

“It was an emotional roller coaster just getting here,” Herring said afterward. “My last outing wasn’t my best. People doubted me, they called me every name in the book. But even with the cut, I wasn’t going to give up, I wasn’t going to quit. … It was a great night.”

The fight was postponed three times, which made it difficult for both boxers. On top of that, Herring had to deal with his critics, who questioned his decision to tell the referee he couldn’t see instead of persevering in the Oquendo fight.

Well, none of that seemed to be on Herring’s mind on Saturday. If anything, it seemed to motivate him.

Herring, who had a significant height and reach advantage over Frampton, used his length to control the fight in the early rounds. His jab served as a barrier through which it was difficult for Frampton to pass. And when he did, he was met with crisp, accurate punches.

Then, in Round 4, things changed after it became clear that Herring was cut above the right eye – the same place as the Oquendo fight – early in the round. Suddenly the champion and challenger engaged in a fire fight, which allowed Frampton to do good work.

However, Herring, perhaps determined to show that he could fight through the cut, often got the better of inside exchanges.

The action continued in Round 5 until a straight left hand put Frampton on his behind about midway through the round. He seemed to be stunned by the punch but survived the remainder of the round.

Then, in the sixth, the two gave fans a phone-booth brawl until Herring sealed Frampton’s fate with the biggest punch of the fight, a left hook that rocked Frampton and put him on his back.

Frampton was able to get up but was easy prey. Herring landed a series of follow-up punches in attempt to put Frampton away before his corner finally screamed at the referee to stop the fight. And he did. The official time was 1:40 of Round 6.

Frampton had no excuses afterward.

“I just got beat by the better man,” he said. “I really struggle dto get inside him. He was sharpshooting from a distance, he had the perfect game plan. I have zero excuses.

“I had an amazing camp. I came into this fight to win it. I was just beaten by the better man.”

Frampton, 34, who was trying to become the first Irishman to win titles in three divisions, had said before the fight that he’d walk away from boxing if he lost. And they weren’t mere words.

“I said before I would retire if I lost this fight and that’s exactly what I’m going to do,” he said. “I wanted to dedicate this fight to [late trainer] Billy McKee and my whole career to my wife and my kids. They’ve made such sacrifices. I’ve been away so long. I’ve missed them growing up, my own kids.

“I want to dedicate my life to my family now. … I just want to go home to my wife and kids.”

Of course, Herring can now build off his spectacular performance. The WBO had ordered the winner of Saturday’s fight to face No. 1 contender Shakur Stevenson, assuming Stevenson defeats Jeremiah Nakathila next month.

If that fight happens, the doubters, swayed by Stevenson’s remarkable gifts, will be out again. And Herring will be that much more motived.

Donnie Nietes easily outpoints Pablo Carrillo in Dubai

Donnie Nietes easily outpointed Pablo Carrillo on the Jamel Herring-Carl Frampton undercard Saturday in Dubai.

Donnie Nietes, 38, showed the top 115-pounders on Saturday that he has more to give.

Nietes (43-1-5, 23 KOs) outboxed and ultimately outworked Pablo Carrillo to win a unanimous decision on the Jamel Herring-Carl Frampton card in Dubai.

Nietes hadn’t fought since December 2018 but certainly didn’t fight like it, as he controlled the fight from beginning to end. He landed more punches and they were harder than his opponent’s.

The final scores were 99-91, 98-92 and 96-95.

The former four-division titleholder from the Philippines now remains undefeated since September 2004, a stretch of more than 16 years.

He has said he wants one more shot at a title, which means he’s targeting 115-pound beltholders Juan Francisco Estrada, Jerwin Ancajas and Kazuto Ioka.

Carrillo (25-8-1, 16 KOs) had never faced anyone near Nietes’ ability and it showed in the fight.

 

Donnie Nietes easily outpoints Pablo Carrillo in Dubai

Donnie Nietes easily outpointed Pablo Carrillo on the Jamel Herring-Carl Frampton undercard Saturday in Dubai.

Donnie Nietes, 38, showed the top 115-pounders on Saturday that he has more to give.

Nietes (43-1-5, 23 KOs) outboxed and ultimately outworked Pablo Carrillo to win a unanimous decision on the Jamel Herring-Carl Frampton card in Dubai.

Nietes hadn’t fought since December 2018 but certainly didn’t fight like it, as he controlled the fight from beginning to end. He landed more punches and they were harder than his opponent’s.

The final scores were 99-91, 98-92 and 96-95.

The former four-division titleholder from the Philippines now remains undefeated since September 2004, a stretch of more than 16 years.

He has said he wants one more shot at a title, which means he’s targeting 115-pound beltholders Juan Francisco Estrada, Jerwin Ancajas and Kazuto Ioka.

Carrillo (25-8-1, 16 KOs) had never faced anyone near Nietes’ ability and it showed in the fight.

 

Jamel Herring has legacy in mind going into fight with Carl Frampton

Jamel Herring has legacy in mind going into his title defense against Carl Frampton on Saturday in Dubai.

Jamel Herring realized a dream by winning a world title. Now it’s about legacy. And Carl Frampton, he believes, will help in that regard.

The 35-year-old junior lightweight champ defends against Frampton, 34, on Saturday at Caesars Palace Bluewaters in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (ESPN+).

It will be Herring’s third – and toughest, at least on paper – defense of the belt he won by easily outpointing Masayuki Ito in May 2019, after which he defeated Lamont Roach (UD) in November 2019 and Jonathan Oquendo (DQ) this past September.

A victory over the two-division titleholder and 2016 Fighter of the Year from Northern Ireland would be the biggest of his career.

“Yes, a win over Frampton would be a career-defining milestone,” Herring said. “You want to win a world title. OK, we win the world title. Well, what’s next? We had to successfully defend our title to be considered a real champion.

“I’m getting to the conversation of, ‘Oh, you want to face the other champions and the other big names,’ and Carl Frampton is a two-division world champion. He has done great things in his career.”

“Since November 2019, this fight has been talked about, and this is my moment. This is what I’ve worked for. This is what I’ve been asking for. This is a big fight for me now.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lo1dCGdJq6M

Herring (22-2, 10 KOs) had a rough 2020.

His defense against Oquendo was postponed twice after the titleholder tested positive for COVID-19. Then the fight itself was ugly, as an overmatched Oquendo was disqualified for repeated head butts after eight one-sided rounds. That was Herring’s only fight of the year.

So it’s no wonder that Herring seems unusually motivated going into the fight with Frampton (28-2, 16 KOs). The coronavirus and a difficult year are behind him and he has the fight he has coveted.

And he couldn’t care less that he has had to travel more than 7,000 miles for the fight. It seems nothing fazes the former soldier.

“I don’t have any doubts with the fight happening in Dubai because I’m a U.S. Marine,” he said. “I’ve fought everywhere, in terms of the battlefield or in the ring. If you guys remember, I was willing to face him in Belfast with no issue, in front of thousands of people.

“I was willing to give him that home field advantage because I wanted the fight that bad that I didn’t really care where the fight was at. As long as we had a ring and some gloves, I didn’t care.”

Now he just has to have his hand raised.

“The way I win this fight is just being me, the Jamel that won the world championship,” he said. “I have to bring that hunger back. I feel like my back is against the wall, even as the champion.”

[lawrence-related id=19059,19011]

Jamel Herring has legacy in mind going into fight with Carl Frampton

Jamel Herring has legacy in mind going into his title defense against Carl Frampton on Saturday in Dubai.

Jamel Herring realized a dream by winning a world title. Now it’s about legacy. And Carl Frampton, he believes, will help in that regard.

The 35-year-old junior lightweight champ defends against Frampton, 34, on Saturday at Caesars Palace Bluewaters in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (ESPN+).

It will be Herring’s third – and toughest, at least on paper – defense of the belt he won by easily outpointing Masayuki Ito in May 2019, after which he defeated Lamont Roach (UD) in November 2019 and Jonathan Oquendo (DQ) this past September.

A victory over the two-division titleholder and 2016 Fighter of the Year from Northern Ireland would be the biggest of his career.

“Yes, a win over Frampton would be a career-defining milestone,” Herring said. “You want to win a world title. OK, we win the world title. Well, what’s next? We had to successfully defend our title to be considered a real champion.

“I’m getting to the conversation of, ‘Oh, you want to face the other champions and the other big names,’ and Carl Frampton is a two-division world champion. He has done great things in his career.”

“Since November 2019, this fight has been talked about, and this is my moment. This is what I’ve worked for. This is what I’ve been asking for. This is a big fight for me now.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lo1dCGdJq6M

Herring (22-2, 10 KOs) had a rough 2020.

His defense against Oquendo was postponed twice after the titleholder tested positive for COVID-19. Then the fight itself was ugly, as an overmatched Oquendo was disqualified for repeated head butts after eight one-sided rounds. That was Herring’s only fight of the year.

So it’s no wonder that Herring seems unusually motivated going into the fight with Frampton (28-2, 16 KOs). The coronavirus and a difficult year are behind him and he has the fight he has coveted.

And he couldn’t care less that he has had to travel more than 7,000 miles for the fight. It seems nothing fazes the former soldier.

“I don’t have any doubts with the fight happening in Dubai because I’m a U.S. Marine,” he said. “I’ve fought everywhere, in terms of the battlefield or in the ring. If you guys remember, I was willing to face him in Belfast with no issue, in front of thousands of people.

“I was willing to give him that home field advantage because I wanted the fight that bad that I didn’t really care where the fight was at. As long as we had a ring and some gloves, I didn’t care.”

Now he just has to have his hand raised.

“The way I win this fight is just being me, the Jamel that won the world championship,” he said. “I have to bring that hunger back. I feel like my back is against the wall, even as the champion.”

[lawrence-related id=19059,19011]

Carl Frampton plotting ‘perfect’ performance to dethrone Jamel Herring

Carl Frampton is plotting a “perfect” performance to dethrone Jamel Herring on Saturday in Dubai.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on DAZN.com.

***

Carl Frampton has admitted that anything less than his ‘A game’ will not suffice if he is to become the first Irish three-weight world champion at the expense of Jamel Herring on Saturday.

Herring defends his junior lightweight title against former junior featherweight and featherweight beltholder Frampton at Caesars Palace Bluewaters in Dubai in what many experts believe is a 50-50 fight.

At 35 and 34, respectively, both champion and challenger are aware that they won’t have much time to rebuild if they leave the ring Saturday without the title. As a result, they are likely to pull out all the stops in the Middle East.

“For me to win this fight, I will need to be perfect,” he told Sky Sports. “If I carry out my game plan, I believe I will win this fight. Everything is aligning. I will expect the best Jamel Herring I have ever seen.

“His last performance was criticized. My own performance in my last fight wasn’t brilliant. I am prepared to be better. Hopefully Jamel is as well. I think the fact I got here early is certainly a benefit to me.

[lawrence-related id=19011,13551,12904]

“We will see what happens. I expect a big performance from Jamel and I am prepared for that. I am very proud of what I have done in my career so far. But the chance to go down as the only ever three-weight world champion in the whole island of Ireland, and only the fourth in Britain. …

“It will put me in an elite bunch of fighters across the world, and it would make me very proud to do it.”

Herring (22-2, 10 KOs) last fought on Sept. 5, when he defeated Jonathan Oquendo by an eighth-round disqualification after repeated head butts by the challenger. Frampton (28-2, 16 KOs) is coming off a seventh-round knockout of Darren Traynor on Aug. 15.

Carl Frampton plotting ‘perfect’ performance to dethrone Jamel Herring

Carl Frampton is plotting a “perfect” performance to dethrone Jamel Herring on Saturday in Dubai.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on DAZN.com.

***

Carl Frampton has admitted that anything less than his ‘A game’ will not suffice if he is to become the first Irish three-weight world champion at the expense of Jamel Herring on Saturday.

Herring defends his junior lightweight title against former junior featherweight and featherweight beltholder Frampton at Caesars Palace Bluewaters in Dubai in what many experts believe is a 50-50 fight.

At 35 and 34, respectively, both champion and challenger are aware that they won’t have much time to rebuild if they leave the ring Saturday without the title. As a result, they are likely to pull out all the stops in the Middle East.

“For me to win this fight, I will need to be perfect,” he told Sky Sports. “If I carry out my game plan, I believe I will win this fight. Everything is aligning. I will expect the best Jamel Herring I have ever seen.

“His last performance was criticized. My own performance in my last fight wasn’t brilliant. I am prepared to be better. Hopefully Jamel is as well. I think the fact I got here early is certainly a benefit to me.

[lawrence-related id=19011,13551,12904]

“We will see what happens. I expect a big performance from Jamel and I am prepared for that. I am very proud of what I have done in my career so far. But the chance to go down as the only ever three-weight world champion in the whole island of Ireland, and only the fourth in Britain. …

“It will put me in an elite bunch of fighters across the world, and it would make me very proud to do it.”

Herring (22-2, 10 KOs) last fought on Sept. 5, when he defeated Jonathan Oquendo by an eighth-round disqualification after repeated head butts by the challenger. Frampton (28-2, 16 KOs) is coming off a seventh-round knockout of Darren Traynor on Aug. 15.

Jamel Herring set to defend junior lightweight title in July

Jamel Herring reportedly will be one of the first big-name opponents to return to the ring amid the coronavirus threat.

Jamel Herring reportedly will be one of the first big-name opponents to return to the ring amid the coronavirus threat.

The junior lightweight titleholder will defend his title on July 2 in Las Vegas, he told ESPN. No opponent has been selected. Herring had been tentatively set to face former two-division beltholder Carl Frampton in Northern Ireland but that fight fell out because of the pandemic.

The site also hasn’t been finalized, although it will be a MGM Resorts property.

“It’s fluid,” said Carl Moretti, director of boxing operations for Top Rank. “We’re on calls every day with stuff. So what we thought was happening on Tuesday is not, and what we thought was happening on Wednesday is now happening. So it just changes and changes.”

Herring (21-2, 10 KOs) won his title by outpointing Masayuki Ito in May of last year. He successfully defended with a decision over Lamont Roach in November.

The 2012 U.S. Olympian is working with trainer Brian McIntyre in Omaha, Nebraska, according to ESPN. He said he doesn’t expect to be rusty when he steps back into the ring.

“It’s funny, I actually felt good for my first sparring session,” Herring said. “So that tells you that even though I haven’t been in a gym setting, the workouts I had been doing at home during my free time, they’ve been paying off.

“So when I got back into the swing of things, it wasn’t a hard adjustment. It’s only one week, and this gives me almost a full eight weeks until the fight arrives.”

Herring won’t face Frampton in July but still wants that fight.

“That’s still the No. 1 priority, for sure,” he said. “I’m still actually shocked from the latest story that I’ve seen, where he’s not willing to fight unless he’s fighting me. If it comes around the December time frame, he will have been out for like an entire year.

“But for me, I just want to stay as busy as much as possible. I’m not getting younger as it is. So why risk coming into big fights with the ring rust on you still.”