Carl Frampton keeps his word and retires after stoppage loss to Jamel Herring
Prior to stepping in the ring with WBO junior lightweight champion Jamel “Semper Fi” Herring (23-2, 11KOs), former two-division champion Carl “The Jackal” Frampton (28-3, 16KOs) vowed to hang up the gloves if he lost. A man of his word, he did just that. This came after being stopped in six rounds.
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Frampton had a good career as he captured multiple titles in two different weight classes. After cruising through the British circuit, he won his first world title decisioning Kiko Martinez in a rematch for the IBF super bantamweight title in September 2014.
Before leaving the super bantamweight division he would take on rival and Scott Quigg in a high stakes unification. A battle of two half’s, Frampton would eke out a split decision to unify the IBF and WBA super bantamweight titles. This win put him directly for a big fight on the world stage! At first it was though he would take on then WBA champion Guillermo “El Chacal” Rigondeaux in a “The Jackal vs The Jackal” clash. However, the Irish champion had other plans in mind.
MOVING UP TO FEATHERWEIGHT
After unifying two of the four titles at super bantamweight, The Jackal would move up to the featherweight division. He went right at the division’s top fighter in Leo Santa Cruz, challenging him for his WBA featherweight title in July 2016. In an exciting fight, he showcased his boxing ability to edge the Mexican by a majority decision.
The win would make him a two-division world champion. Furthermore, an immediate rematch and an opportunity to take home a huge purse was on the horizon. The rematch took place six months later and resulted in Santa Cruz ironically taking his title back by majority decision. This loss, would be Frampton’s first career defeat.
In April 2018, he would face Nonito Donaire, dominating him to win the vacant WBO interim featherweight title. A stoppage defense of his interim title against undefeated prospect Luke Jackson lead to another world title opportunity. In December 2018, the newly crowned IBF champion Josh Warrington took his challenge. Here we saw a serious decline in Frampton as he would get easily outclassed. The difference in skill led to fans questioning if his best days were behind him.
ONE LAST RUN IN A NEW WEIGHT CLASS
As fans questioned his resolve, Frampton would not be deterred in trying to make history. He decided to start his campaign towards becoming the first Irish fighter to win titles in three divisions. The first bout of this journey involved traveling to the United States to face another undefeated prospect in Tyler McCreary. Going in, many felt the younger McCreary was the fresher fighter and could cause and upset. However, Frampton won the bout in dominant fashion and had many fans thinking he may just be able to pull off becoming a champion again.
Another dominant domestic level clash sprung the opportunity to face Herring as he had secured a high enough ranking with the WBO. While the end of the book did not include the ending Frampton wanted, what he has achieved in his twelve year career should definitely make him comfortable in retirement.
We here at 3kingsboxing.com would like to wish Carl Frampton a happy retirement!
By: Jerrell Fletcher
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