Belfast star denies dreaming of Quigg showdown
Carl Frampton is not taking anything for granted in his opening fight of a massive year as he looks to extend his unbeaten record when he defends his title against Kris Hughes at York Hall on Saturday night live on Sky Sports 1 and HD1.
The Commonwealth champion is forever linked with huge title fights, but he insists that he is totally focused on the job in hand tonight, and it seems that the challenger has inadvertently helped ‘The Jackal’ sharpen his concentration ahead of the bout.
“He’s a tall, awkward southpaw, he may be hard to get to for a while,” said Frampton. “But he’s been saying a few things to reporters and online that I’m not worth the hype and so on, that’s the sort of thing that motivates me so he’s probably made his first mistake there as that will give me extra drive tonight.
“I had a look at his record and there’s nothing much to shout about there. He’s a big lad and he’s boxed at Featherweight and Super Featherweight and above that as well. I don’t know where that comment came from but there you go.”
Possible clashes with British champion Scott Quigg and European titlist Kiko Martinez have been put to the 24 year-old as fans and pundits lick their lips at the prospect of the super-bantamweight division exploding into life.
Again though, Frampton is keen to point out his focus is on tonight’s task and he knows that as a title holder there is added pressure in the fight.
“I approach every fight the same as the desired end result to every fight is always the same – victory,” said Frampton. “So I train really hard for every fight anyway, but I guess now I’m the champion that this guy is coming to take something from me so I’m know there’s a target on my head. But my body is adapting all the time with every fight and I’m getting fitter and stronger all the time, it’s much easier to do the rounds now.
“Training has been perfect – Barry is meticulous with everything we do in training and wrote down the other week that we had done over 150 rounds of sparring, so it’s been great.
“This is a really big year and there are other fights out there besides Quigg and Martinez. But I’m totally focused on tonight – I’ve read things where he’s said that he thinks we have overlooked him and are looking at fights beyond tonight, but that is not the case. Everything around the camp has been geared for him and I couldn’t be in better shape.”
Frampton claimed the vacant Commonwealth strap with a commanding performance against Australian Mark Quon in September in front of a massive hometown crowd at the Odyssey Arena. Tonight is his second outing at the York Hall and he’s
“It would have been great to have fought in Belfast but I’ve boxed here before and it’s a great venue,” said Frampton. “There’s a lot of boxing fans in the area and they know their stuff so you are always guaranteed a good crowd. John Ryder is on the bill too and he’s a big ticket seller and I’ll have a lot here too, so I hope tonight is a sell-out and that there’s a great atmosphere as it always gives you that extra push and we can put on a great show.
“It’s great to be topping the bill, a massive opportunity to showcase my talents and it’s a tough task. It is important that you gain experience away from home as hopefully one day I’ll be boxing for a World title and that might be away from home, so nights like this are very important.”
Frampton’s next fight could well be away from home – in New York City on St. Patrick’s Day. Matthew Macklin challenges Sergio Martinez at Madison Square Garden.
“Eddie Hearn and Barry have discussed about the New York fight and if I get through tonight injury-free it’s a real possibility,” said Frampton. “You dream about boxing in venues like Madison Square Garden when you are a kid and if I can get another win there then a fight with Kiko or Scott in the summer would surely be sealed.”
The Road To Glasgow
The St Andrew’s Sporting Club Boss Tommy Gilmour today made a groundbreaking announcement that for the first time since its inception in 1973 The Club will play host to an Amateur Boxing evening on Monday 20th February 2012.
The evening will feature 5 Top Internationalist from Scotland who hope to represent their country at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow 2014. Opposition for this Event will be provided by 5 Top Englishmen who also hope for inclusion in their National Team.
An excited Tommy Gilmour enthused
“ I am delighted that The Club can play host to such a prestigious fixture and it is wonderful to be given the opportunity to back Glasgow 2014. At this time people are talking about London 2012, but as a proud Glaswegian I hope that we will start to talk about the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
I would like to give a big thanks to Amateur Boxing Scotland Supremo Richard Thomas and his staff for making the event possible.”
The Scottish Team will feature Josh Taylor, Joe Ham, Mark McKeown, Scott Forrest and Ross Henderson.
Gilmour also hopes to invite some of the medal winners from previous Empire and Commonwealth Games to The Club to give their support to the young up and coming stars of the future.
THE HYLAND BROTHERS HIGHLIGHT THE DEBUT OF TEAM SNOOKI BOXING THIS SATURDAY NIGHT AT RESORTS IN ATLANTIC CITY
New York, NY – January 25, 2012 – This Saturday night history will be made at Resorts in Atlantic City as the debut of Team Snooki Boxing will feature a trio of Irish brothers. The Hyland Brothers comprised of Patrick “Pajo” Hyland (Featherweight, 24-0, 11 KOs, Irish Featherweight Champion, Former I.B.F Intercontinental Featherweight Champion, Intercontinental Super-Featherweight Champion, and WBF World Featherweight Champion), Eddie Hyland (Super-Featherweight, 16-1, 6 KOs, Former Irish Super-Featherweight Champion),and Paul Hyland (Super-Bantamweight, 20-2, 6 KOs, Irish Super-Bantamweight Champion, and former EU Super-Bantamweight Champion).
The Hyland Brothers will headline a night of boxing at Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Saturday, January 28, 2012. Patrick will put his undefeated record on the line against tough super featherweight Manny Lucaro (26-8 (14 KOs), Paul will face an opponent to be named and Eddie will be up against Franklin Gonzalez (14-0, 10 KOs). While in the United States, they are trained by two- time World Champion, Tracy Patterson and their father, Paddy who has trained them since birth. The event, to be titled “The Irish Invasion,” will mark the first time that three brothers, who are all Irish champions have fought on the same card in America.
It will be a great test for Paul Hyland as Lucero has faced the cream of the crop in the boxing world.
He has faced he pound for pound best in Manny Pacquiao as well as world champion Daniel Ponce DeLeon and undefeated prospects Valdimer Periera, Jorge Diaz and Diego Magdaleno
“We are incredibly excited to introduce The Hyland Brothers and Team Snooki Boxing. We’ve seen what these boys can do, and expect nothing less than continued success and ‘living up to the hype’ for each of them here in the States,” said Mike Pascale, Vice President of Final Round Promotions. “The Irish Invasion” will be presented by Final Round Promotions on Saturday, January 28th, 2012.
A packed undercard has been assembled that features one of the top Heavyweights in the United States plus a bevy of undefeated prospects.
Derric Rossy of Medford, New York has a record of 25-5 with fourteen knockouts was just one fight away from fighting for the Heavyweight championship of the world and will look to get on track when he takes on veteran Livin Castillo (16-10, 10 KOs) of Atlantic City.
This will be a good test for Rossy as Castillo has fought just about every top Heavyweight such as Jean-Marc Mormeck, Oleg Maskaev, Alexander Povetkin, Bruce Seldon, Eddie Chambers and Chazz Witherspoon to name a few.
Three undefeated prospects will look to keep their perfect marks intact as Jr. Lightweight Chazz McDowell (4-0,1KO) of Yonkers NY battles Phil Nazario (0-1) in a four round bout.
Former world amateur Heavyweight champion, Joey Dawejko (6-0, 2KO’s) battles Alvaro Morales (6-10-6) of Las Vegas.
Newark, NJ based Middleweight John Thompson (4-0, 1KO) will take on Andre Espeut (2-3, 1 KO) of Morristown, NJ in a four round bout.
Anthony Gangemi of Mine Hill, NJ will make his pro debut against Esau Tatum (0-1) out of Pine Bluff, Arkansas in a four round Jr. Middleweight bout.
Rounding out the card will be pro debuting Moses Molina of nearby Bridgeton, NJ battling Desi Williams (0-3) of Wilson, NC in a four round Jr. Lightweight bout.
Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi appeared on WFAN and MSG Network’s “The Boomer and Carton Show” on Wednesday, December 14 to announce the latest venture in her growing empire which is the formation of Team Snooki Boxing.
Tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster and Resorts Hotel Casino.. For additional information please visit www.thehylandbrothers.com, www.resortsac.com or www.ticketmaster.com
Boxing fans can save $25 on any ticket of $100 by using a special promotion code “TSB”