NEW trainer Jamie Moore insists he has the experience to guide Carl Frampton back to the top of boxing world after a disastrous 2017 so far.
‘The Jackal’ started the year by being crowned ESPN and Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year for his exploits in the 12 months previous, but lost his WBA featherweight world title in January’s Las Vegas rematch against Leo Santa Cruz.
A much talked about summer fight at Windsor Park then failed to materialise, before his homecoming against Andres Gutierrez was cancelled at the 11th hour when the little-known Mexican slipped in the shower.
Following weeks of speculation, the 30-year-old last month confirmed his split with Cyclone Promotions, signalling an end to his relationship with long-term trainer Shane McGuigan as well.
Yesterday Frampton announced Manchester-based Moore as his new trainer, and the former European light-middleweight champion was quick to dismiss any suggestion that he was not a big enough name to take ‘The Jackal’ to a new level.
He said: “You always expect that when there is change, there’ll always be question marks.
“Listen, I have no issues with anybody like Shane McGuigan, but I’m a more experienced fighter than Shane McGuigan certainly was.
“That doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be a good trainer but I have got a lot of experience, I’ve been involved in some fights, some big corners – I was with Matt Macklin in Atlantic City [v Lemar Russ], live on HBO, so I’ve been in those situations. Tommy Coyle has topped the bill outdoors in Hull against Luke Campbell, so it’s not as if I’m not experienced.
“If you’ve experience doing 12 hard rounds with a top level fighter a few times, I definitely think that puts you in better stead to give information and advice in the corner than if you haven’t done it.
“I know I can set good game-plans out, I know I can get my fighter to perform to his best so I’m not concerned about people’s comments.
“The results will be the proof of the pudding.”
The arrangement came about after Frampton contacted Moore while in Las Vegas for the Conor McGregor v Floyd Mayweather jr fight, with the former two-weight world champion training at the VIP Gym outside Manchester since Monday.
They have gelled well and Moore says he has no plans to try and change Frampton’s style, insisting that his main role will be to ensure he gets the right instructions from the corner at the right times.
“He’s a terrific all round fighter – there’s not necessarily any flaws there,” added the 38-year-old.
“I wouldn’t offend him by trying to change him in any way because he’s such a formidable fighter as he is.
“What I’ve been speaking to him about is setting out game-plans and getting him to stick to them and using his best attributes at the right time and in certain situations.
“Watching the Santa Cruz rematch back, Santa Cruz changed his tactics slightly and that’s what won him the fight. Carl could’ve had a bit of a better game-plan going into it and that could’ve altered the result.
“Looking forward, I’m hoping we can get the third fight with Santa Cruz. Whichever direction he goes in promotional-wise will have an impact on the sort of opponents he goes in against, but there’s plenty of names out there and some massive fights.”
‘The Jackal’ has made no secret of the fact he hopes to fight in Belfast before the end of the year, and Moore expects Frampton’s future to be resolved soon so they can get down to business.
“The sooner he gets that situation sorted out the sooner he can get a date pinned down. He definitely wants to get out before Christmas and hopefully by the end of this month it’ll all be sorted out and we can get a date pinned down maybe towards the end of November.
“We are going to keep ticking over, it’s going to take us a week or two to make sure we get the right blend going together.
“But until he gets a date set in stone, I wouldn’t even think about getting into training camp because you don’t want to overcook the chicken too early.
“We’ll see what dates come up and take it from there.”
