Tag: Tyler McCreary

Jamel Herring, Carl Frampton agree to fight. When? Who knows?

Carl Frampton and Jamel Herring have an agreement to fight but they don’t have a date or a place because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Jamel Herring and Carl Frampton have an agreement. But they don’t have a date or a place.

Welcome to a new way of doing business. Tentative is the operative word for as long as the coronavirus pandemic forces the world into quarantine.

Frank Warren, of Queensberry Promotions, announced the deal Wednesday on his Twitter account, saying: Terms are agreed. … News on date and venue coming soon.’’

But the date and place are subject to when the contagious virus subsides. There are no reliable odds on that. Just fears that it will continue.

Warren is hoping to stage the bout on June 13 in Belfast, Ireland, Frampton’s hometown.

Herring-Frampton, for Herring’s junior lightweight belt, has been speculated for months. At first, there were questions about whether it would ever happen because of injuries to Frampton (27-2, 15 KOs), a former junior featherweight and featherweight champion who underwent surgery for fractures in both hands after his decision unanimous over Tyler McCreary on Nov. 30 in Las Vegas.

Herring (21-2, 10 KOs), a Marine and Iraq war veteran, is coming off a unanimous decision over Lamont Roach in his first title defense on Nov. 9 in Fresno, California.

Carl Frampton says hands will be fine for Jamel Herring fight in May

Carl Frampton said reports that he’ll have to delay a planned fight against Jamel Herring in May are wrong.

Carl Frampton dismissed speculation that recovery from hand surgery will force a postponement of his planned fight in May against junior lightweight champion Jamel Herring in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Frampton’s hometown.

Frampton underwent surgery during the week before Christmas for fractures he sustained in both hands in a unanimous decision over Tyler McCreary on Nov. 30 in Las Vegas.

“Everything is going where it needs to be and I’m looking forward to getting back to training,’’ Frampton (27-2, 15 KOs) told MTK Global, an international agency that represents about 100 fighters. “I’m itching to get back in there.”

A story in the Irish Times reported that the fight would be delayed until June or July because Frampton would not be ready. The newspaper quoted Herring as saying he didn’t foresee “a fight happening in Belfast any time soon.”

The newspaper speculated that Herring (21-2, 10 KOs) would take a possible interim fight on March 15 in New York.

“Someone showed me an article that said sources had told them the hands won’t be ready for May,’’ Frampton said. “I don’t know where these sources are coming from, but they’ve got it wrong.

“I’ve had both hands operated on, and they’re sore, but the surgeon was happy with how the operations went. He said I’ve got plenty of time. He said I could be punching within six weeks after the surgery.

“Even if I waited 10 weeks to start punching, it would still be plenty of time to get ready for May. I have another appointment with the specialist at the end of the month, and we’ll know more after that, but the pain is easing every day, and I’ve got more movement in both hands every day.’’

Carl Frampton to have surgery on both hands, will be out until at least May

Carl Frampton is scheduled to have surgery on both hands on Dec. 20 and will not fight again until at least May.

Carl Frampton will undergo surgery for injuries in both hands, he wrote Sunday in a story for the Belfast Telegraph.

The procedures, scheduled for Dec. 20, are expected to keep him out of the ring until at least May, writes Frampton, a former featherweight champion who hopes for a shot at the junior lightweight belt held by Jamel Herring.

Frampton (27-2, 15 KOs) went into his 130-pound debut, a unanimous decision over Tyler McReary (16-2, 7 KOs) on Nov. 30 at Las Vegas’ Cosmopolitan, with an injured left hand. He said he hurt his right midway through the bout.

“I went into the fight with a fractured left hand and then finished the fight with a broken right hand,’’ he wrote.

“I think it was in the seventh round I caught McCreary to the forehead and the right hand went.’’

Frampton, 32, decided to fight McReary despite re-injuring his left hand in the final sparring session before the opening bell. He first injured the hand in a freak accident in August, forcing him to withdraw from a fight with Emmanuel Dominguez in Philadelphia. A “large ornament’ in a hotel lobby fell on the hand, he said then.

“A lot of people had paid money to see me in Philadelphia last summer, and that fight unfortunately fell through because of my broken left hand, so I couldn’t let the fans down a second time,’’ he wrote Sunday.

He also said the Nevada State Athletic Commission would not allow an injection that would have eased pain in the left hand.

“The left land had what they call a non-displaced fracture, but because of the damage in the fight, it is now a displaced fracture on the metacarpal. In other words, the bone has moved and I need a pin and plate in it,’’ he said.  “The good thing is that I will be able to rest both hands for a good while to make sure they are spot on for the fight with Herring.’’

Carl Frampton cruises to shutout victory over Tyler McCreary

Carl Frampton outclassed Tyler McCreary en route to a shutout decision victory Saturday in Las Vegas.

Carl Frampton said loudly and clearly with his performance on Saturday, “I’m still here.”

Frampton dominated relative novice Tyler McCreary from beginning to end, putting down the Toledo fighter twice with body shots and winning a shutout 10-round decision at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.

And Frampton, who hadn’t fought in almost a year, said he did it even though he broke his hand in training twice and might’ve done it again early in the fight Saturday.

On top of that, he was fighting in a new division, junior lightweight. The fighters agreed on a 128-pound catch weight.

Frampton dominated his taller opponent, who had never been in a scheduled 10-rounder, in every conceivable way but the body shots were the most telling blows.

“That was the plan from the start, to target the body,” said Frampton, a two-division titleholder. “He’s pretty tall and we saw gaps. And my hand was not great coming into the fight. The body is softer. I feel like I hurt (the hand) again in the second round. That’s why it wasn’t the most exciting fight. I wanted to be safe with the hand.

“… I knew I had a lot of support. There was no way I wasn’t fighting.”

McCreary (16-1-1, 7 knockouts) was a good amateur, meaning he brought some skills into the ring. However, he seemed to be overwhelmed by both a crafty veteran and the moment.

McCreary would’ve been well served to fight Frampton from the outside but had no hope of keeping the Irish fighter off of him.

Frampton (27-2, 15 KOs) simply pounded the body, landed some eye-catching punches to the head and won round after round.

He landed a left to the body early in Round 6, forcing McCreary to take a knee. Then, in Round 9, a vicious double left to same spot forced McCreary to a knee again. He got up and finished the fight but never came close to solving the puzzle Frampton presented.

McCreary lost every round on all three cards.

Frampton was coming off a surprising unanimous-decision loss to Josh Warrington last December, which had the 32-year-old questioning his future in the sport. His performance on Saturday was a solid step toward another title shot.

Frampton’s dream is to win a belt in a third division. A possible opponent is 130-pound titleholder Jamel Herring, who was in the arena for the fight Saturday.

“He’s a two-division champion for a reason,” Herring said at ringside. “He did what he had to do. Especially after a year off and after some setbacks, he looked good. … I would love to fight him.”

That’s music to Frampton’s ears.

Oscar Valdez to face Adam Lopez after Andres Gutierrez comes in 11 pounds over

Adam Lopez to fill in for Andres Gutierrez against Oscar Valdez after Gutierrez misses weight by 11 pounds.

Andres Gutierrez’s inability to make weight was a stroke of luck for Adam Lopez.

Gutierrez missed weight Friday by a head-scratching 11 pounds for his 10-round junior lightweight fight against Mexican-born star Oscar Valdez on Saturday in Las Vegas on ESPN+.

Thus, Gutierrez was out and a sub was needed. In stepped Lopez, who had been scheduled to face Luis Coria in a featherweight bout on the undercard.

Valdez made the 130-pound limit, weighing 129.8 pounds. Lopez weighed the featherweight limit of 126.

“I trained hard for three months making the sacrifices, and I am very upset with Andres Gutierrez,” Valdez told BoxingScene.com. “He was unprofessional. As soon as I heard 141 pounds, I still wanted to fight him, but my team and (promoter) Bob Arum said Gutierrez was out. I give credit to Adam Lopez for stepping up. It will be a great fight tomorrow night.”

Said Lopez: “It was surreal when I got the offer to fight Oscar. I‘ve known Oscar for a long time and I‘ve wanted this fight for a long time. I’m ready for it. Deep down, I’ll take anyone. Ultimately, I left it up to my trainer (Buddy McGirt), and he gave the fight his blessing.”

Valdez (26-0, 20 knockouts) is making his debut as a full-fledged junior lightweight. He won his featherweight title in 2016 and successfully defended six times.

Lopez (13-1, 6 KOs) is a 23-year-old from Glendale, California. He has fought in only one scheduled 10-round fight, which ended by seventh-round KO over Jean Carlos Rivera in his last fight.

Also, Carl Frampton (26-2, 15 KOs) and Tyler McCreary (16-0-1, 7 KOs) made weight for their scheduled 10-round junior lightweight bout. Frampton weighed 128, McCreary 127.5.

And, in a bout for an “interim” junior middleweight title, Carlos Adames (18-0, 14 KOs) and Patrick Teixeira (30-1, 22 KOs) made weight. Adames weighed 153.5, Teixeira 153.25.