By Jonathan Elliott: I was in attendance at the Odyssey Arena Belfast, for the Tyson Fury vs Martin Rogan clash, when I had the fortunate chance of bumping into Carl ‘The Jackal’ Frampton, and my words to him were, “You are destined for big things” He thanked me with his humble response.
I have been a big fan of Frampton for some time now and believe he is a future star in the making.
Frampton is one of the most exciting young prospects about, after a hugely successful amateur career consisting of more than 100 bouts, that success has certainly continued throughout his professional career so far with him remaining undefeated in 13 bouts with 9 of those wins coming by way of knockout. He has explosive power in both hands, fast hands, and is extremely exciting to watch which will no doubt turn him into a big fan favourite around the globe.
There is no secret of the three way fight triangle that is lighting up the domestic scene in the super-bantamweight division with Frampton, Scott Quigg and Rendall Munroe. Quigg and Munroe are set to dust off come June 16th, and I would have Frampton beating them both with all due respect to Quigg and Munroe who I rate as exceptional boxers who will both do extremely well in their careers.
Frampton who is managed by another fan favourite among the boxing community in Barry McGuigan, who after witnessing him pick up the European Union silver medal and the Irish senior featherweight title in his amateur days decided to take him under his expertised wing, has rated Frampton very highly which showed when he matched him with Spanish boxer Kiko Martinez back in September for what was only his 11th contest, for the European title, only for him to withdraw leaving Frampton to stop late replacement Mark Quon in four rounds for the vacant Commonwealth title.
Frampton has went on to have two successfull defences with impressive wins over Mark Hughes coming by way of a seventh round stoppage at York Hall and a second round knockout of Prosper Ankrah on the Brook vs Hatton undercard in Sheffield.
It is still early days and there will be big tests along the way to the top for Frampton who competes in a talent packed division, but the top is were Frampton firmly belongs. He’s still learning and still has plenty of developing to do, which makes it exciting that we haven’t seen the full package yet.
I have been and will be following Frampton’s career very closely, he has backed up the hype surrounding him with his devastating performances in the ring so far and i know it won’t be long before one of my articles is headlined on this exceptional young man becoming a World Champion.