Jamel William Herring vs. Carl Frampton

Interestingly, I think Framptom might have the quicker hands.

 

If Frampton's aging legs still allow him to judge distance somewhere close to his prime - and, importantly, be physically able to take advantage of this - then the size difference can be negated. If not, he's gonna struggle. That said, it's completely ridiculous for a 5ft 10ins, 35-year-old to keep making SFW with no repercussions, especially when he's only given himself a week to adjust to a hugely different time zone.

Father time will be the judge of this fight, I suspect - and I also suspect a weight-drained (relative) giant might be able to muddle through better than a sluggish midget will be able to adapt to boxing with diminished timing and no reliable Plan B to fall back on. Frampton used to have more than one game plan in fights but they all relied on elite level judgement of distance...

 

No reason to think Herring will be drained, he comes into the ring at like 138 - posts himself weighing in during camp quite a bit on social media. Just a skinny guy who’s always in shape. Closer to 5’8” to, realistically.

 

This is a tricky fight.

If we just look at it skill 4 skill i think it's common sense that Frampton is the better fighter p4p.

But there are a couple of things i don't like and therefore i'll side with Herring here.

1. I don't care what people say but Frampton doesn't belong to a weight class above Featherweight. He wasn't even big at 126. Now he's facing a solid sized Lightweight at 130. Come on. Weight classes are there for a reason and Frampton shouldn't fight at 130. If he can't make 126 fair enough but otherwise he should stay at 126 which is already a stretch. I think some guys at 126 would absolutely destroy this guy at this point.

2. Frampton isn't exactly a pressure fighter. And pressure is what Herring doesn't like.

3. Frampton hasn't the greatest output anymore. 45/round against McCreary, 50/round against Warrington and even against Traynor he was below 50 punches per round which isn't great for the lower weight classes. Frampton is a guy who usually throws 45-50 punches per round. The question is how much punches will he throw against a guy where he's at a 7-inch reach disadvantage? Hard to trust him to outwork the much bigger & taller Herring here in my opinion and outworking is the only reasonable path to victory for Frampton because he can't outbox Herring. But as i said before...Frampton isn't a pressure fighter. So will he change his style at 35 years of age? I don't think so.

4. Not saying Frampton is shot but man he didn't look great in his last fight. Very slow, sloppy. Footwork was all over the place. I don't like that. Frampton is old for the weight, he had a lot of wars and tough fights and now he's moving up in weight against a much bigger guy. It's a recipe for disaster.

5. Herring isn't very good and he's probably one of the "weakest" champions we have in boxing right now. But his style is a nightmare for Frampton imo. Long, rangy jab with really good counter punching and speed. I also think Herring improved a lot since training with Bomac.

To sum it up...i don't think Frampton will have a lot of success here. Going with Herring by decision. Most likely 116-112 or 117-111. But considering Herring isn't a world beater, had Covid and also going into his mid 30s i don't see it as a "lock". Wouldn't be shocked to see Herring looking flat and gassing at the mid way point and Frampton taking over with body shots.

 

Herring should fight Erick Bone so we can market the fight as HerringBone.

 

True but let's not forget what the much smaller Shafikov did to Herring. That being said... Frampton probably isn't the same fighter he used to be and I question his drive & desire at this point and one think about Herring which I don't question is that despite his faults. Prime for prime though it's hard not to favor Frampton.

FYI (I was looking for an excuse to plug
of my favorite lesser regarded fighters of recent years before even entering this thread) Dude doesn't get nearly enough kudos - Roadwarrior who fought much bigger opponents, a couple went on to win world titles a feat he unfortunately never achieved)