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Don’t Write Carl Frampton Off Just Yet!

By Donald “Braveheart” Stewart

On Saturday the 18th November 2018 he came home.

Having trotted over to the USA to win, only to return and carelessly lose it, Carl, The Jackal, Frampton, 24-1, 14 KO’s, wanted to come home and show people why he was supposed to be a very real hero. The idea was that he would entertain, be back and put himself in the world title mix again.

It was always going to be a tall order and that is exactly what turned out to be, in front of his home, noisy and expectant crowd. It had been 10 months since getting in a ring competitively, with his first ever professional career loss to Leo Santa Cruz, 34-1-1, 19 KO’s, when in January of this year at the MGM grand in Las Vegas, that world title slipped from his waist.

Frampton thought that he was due to meet Cruz again – for the third fight in an unlikely trilogy – in Belfast as a courtesy to him. After all he had given Santa Cruz the courtesy of a rematch on American soil, but Cruz was not going to be a man of his word.

When it became clear that Belfast had no attractions worthy of his travelling across the pond, Frampton needed to think again. His answer was a homecoming fight under the promotional team of the McGuigan’s.

Prior to that fight being announced, the McGuigan’s and Frampton had been part of a BBC documentary series which had followed team Frampton up to the first Santa Cruz fight when he won the WBA featherweight title in Brooklyn. It showed a highly safe and secure team with family stamped all over it; little did we know that it was going to end so abruptly and with an attendant divorce now heading to the courts.

Frampton’s win against Cruz had been a magical night; a fantastic result for the Belfast man. Frampton came across in the documentary as a humble man of humble origins with a strong sense of gratitude to father and son, Barry McGuigan his manager and Shane McGuigan his trainer. This was a team presented as one, the musketeers with an Irish lilt that was going to rule their world.

Then Frampton only went and spoiled it all by doing something stupid like losing that second Cruz fight.

He needed redemption.

That redemption – on home soil – was set to come with an opponent worthy of replacing a heady experience. The opponent was found, Andres Gutiérrez, 35-2-1, 25 KO’s, the setting was ready but at the weigh in Frampton failed to make weight.

The fight was no longer an eliminator for a world title but, no matter, Frampton needed to make a bold statement. Then Gutiérrez slipped in the shower and ended up with enough injuries to suggest he had been schooled in training by David Haye; the fight was called off.

Rumors were already doing the rounds that things were not all cosy in camp Frampton. Carl had just resigned as a director of Cyclone Promotions, the McGuigan’s company, a little while before.

Now, not making weight can be a tricky thing to blame anyone for but would not the trainer have some culpability? Is it not his job to make sure the fighter hits ALL the right buttons? Was Frampton doing what he was told or playing with his own career?
Then we had the very late cancellation.

The press conference called to announce it was the epitome of “strained relationships.” If there was any truth in the rumour of strained relationships the evidence was obvious for anyone to see – the whole deal between the former partners was nearing the exit.
When it came, it began dignified and information has not been shared and not traded in a war of words. It was clear that there are two sides to this story and each was being respectful of the other. It was good to see and nice not to hear some furious exchanges on social media or any other sort of media. But that was then…

It had made Frampton’s next moves all the more important.

He started by appointing the emerging MTK Global as his management team. Eddie Hearn AND Frank Warren then bid for the opportunity to promote Frampton. In Frampton’s own words, the old guy got it; Warren is now the promoter in charge.

The first showing of the new relationship came with a Belfast homecoming show that did happen. Warren ended up giving us a cracking night of boxing. He also gave Frampton due warning that getting back to the world level will not come in a 10-round fight with a game opponent, Horacio Garcia, 33-4-1, 14 KO’s.

Frampton won well enough, despite slipping to the canvass and having that count as a knockdown; technically it was. The ring rust of 10 months out was shaken to its core and his new trainer, Jamie Moore proved he could provide us with a Frampton who is ready to continue the journey. Frampton says he is now ready for a world title shot; Warren is not so sure.

He wants another fight before getting Frampton back in the ring for world titles, I think Warren is right.

We saw a very good Frampton that chilly November night, but we did not see an excellent Frampton. That excellence will be needed for the legacy fights Frampton is after to provide for his family and give him enough on which to retire. That may include the rematch with Cruz AND the rematch with Scott Quigg, 34-1-2, 25 KO’s, as well as the mouth-watering fight that is Lee Selby, 25-1, 9 KO’s. Frampton does not want to hang about once these have been finalised and wants to retire relatively early to avoid any permanent damage. He is a smart man and showed in the ring he is a smart boxer. If it turns out, he can fulfil his dream of becoming Ireland’s first ever three weight world champion it will show just how smart he is at the business end of boxing.

That shall be sorely tested over the next few months as we hear there is now a court case between the McGuigan’s and Frampton over that divorce. Having been amicable it may now become very messy. We hope not as the dignity both sides have shown has bene a rare commodity of late.

Whether or not they can negotiate their way through the mire of legal jargon and counter argument shall be seen in the spotlight and that, as they say, is a story yet to be written…

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