Bell accuses WBO champion Jamel Herring of choosing lesser opponent!
In an exclusive interview with 3Kingsboxing.com, rising junior lightweight prospect Albert Bell (16-0, 5KOs) accused current 130 pound WBO champion Jamel “Semper Fi” Herring (21-2, 10KOs) of taking an easier route for his next title defense instead of facing him.
The unbeaten Toledo, Ohio native was offered the opportunity to fight for the WBO belt. However, he has now revealed what went left, causing that fight not to come to fruition.
BELL SPEAKS!
“He took a different route, I believe he took a lesser opponent. They offered me the fight, not last Thursday but the Thursday before last. They asked me would I be interested in facing Jamel. I told them yes immediately because I thought I was going to get that fight awhile ago. But I know how the business works, I just wait my turn.
If [Andy] Vences was to beat me, he was scheduled to fight Jamel Herring next. Like even before the fight, they were saying winner of this fight enters world title contention. You know et cetera, et cetera. So when we fought, Jamel Herring was ringside. He came in the ring, we took pictures and stuff like that. So I figured that fight would happen next because, Vences was supposed to fight him next and I beat Vences, so I should’ve been next up in line for that title.
But Carl Frampton and Oscar Valdez came up from 126 to 130 and signed with Top Rank or whatever the case may be. So they have seniority in front of younger prospects because they’re already established world fighters. I already know how that goes and they’re multiple world champions. They get to cut in front of you, so I already understand that.
Before that, I couldn’t even fight Jamel before they moved up because he had a mandatory in Lamont Roach. So after he defended his mandatory, then they moved in and that set me back, which I understand that. But then quarantine came, COVID-19 hit. The quarantine, which they put the travel ban up so Carl Frampton can’t come over here and fight no time soon, so he still has to fight. So that’s when they came back to me. So they asked me would I fight him, I said yes immediately. They said ‘okay, we’ll present it to him’. Of course he’s a champion and it’s not mandatory, so they present him other options as well.
I think he ended up on some guy, I think his name is (Oquendo). 5’4 short guy, 36 years old, thirty one wins, six losses, been knocked out a couple of times and lost to the guy Jamel just beat. So nobody understands why they took that fight out of all the fights. You’re a world champion, you know. You go from the hunter to the hunted, you know you got to prove yourself as the champion.”
Obviously Bell wanted the opportunity to prove himself to be championship ready right now. Although, as he alluded to in the interview, he understands this is a business. Maybe down the line he’ll get to show and prove why it may have been wise for Herring to go with Jonathan Oquendo instead of himself.
By: Jerrell Fletcher
