IT’S A fight he is expected to win, and win convincingly, but Carl Frampton is well aware that unbeaten opponent Tyler McCreary will see upsetting the odds in Las Vegas as his ticket to stardom.
Ohio ‘Golden Child’ McCreary has fought below world title level so far in his 16-0-1 career. Tall with a good jab and fast hands, he will see Belfast’s two-weight world champion as his ticket into the top echelons of the sport.
Meanwhile, Frampton needs an impressive victory at the Cosmopolitan Hotel to force his way back into the world title mix and prove to the watching world that he remains a contender. There’s no reason to doubt that he is (a contender) of course and ‘the Jackal’ is relishing the opportunity to get back into action after an enforced absence caused by breaking his hand in an accident just before his August fight in Philadelphia.
“McCreary is a decent opponent,” said Frampton.
“He has that American style, he’s got a good jab and he’s tall so it might be difficult to get past it.
“But the way things have been going in the gym, I think the tactics we want to apply in this fight will work well. It might take me a few rounds to get used to his height and stuff but, once I do, I’ll be fine.”
On his last visit to Vegas, Frampton was an unbeaten featherweight champion but he lost his title in a rematch to Leo Santa Cruz who then refused to grant him a third fight. McCreary’s profile is nowhere near Santa Cruz’s level but Frampton, well aware that defeat well end his career, is training for the fight like he was.
“I train for every fighter the same,” he said.
“I’m preparing for McCreary the same as I would for Leo Santa Cruz or Scott Quigg or Kiko Martinez or Warrington. I prepare for them all the same and the thing is when you get a guy like McCreary who is kind of unknown, we may have never seen who he can perform yet, he’ll probably perform better than he ever has because this gives him an opportunity.
“If he beats me he’ll fight for a world title in his next fight so I need to be aware of that.
“He’ll be looking at what happens if he gets my name on his record so I need to be on my game and go about it and be ruthless when I’m in there. I think I will be.
“I’m feeling very sharp and switched on and I’m looking forward to the fight now.”
As for his hand injury – he was forced to pull out of his August comeback against Emmanuel Dominguez in Philadelphia after a hotel ornament fell over and hit him on the left hand, fracturing the fifth metacarpal – he says everything is fine now and he is “blasting away”.
“My hand is dead on,” he said.
“It was obviously not ideal to be starting camp with a bad hand but it’s all good now, I’m blasting away. I’m being cautious with it, wearing big gloves when I’m hitting the pads and making sure I’m on top of it but it’s fine.”
CARL Frampton has hailed Katie Taylor as a role model for women’s sport after the Bray woman joined the elite club of Irish two-weight world champions that includes only the Jackal and Steve Collins.
In her first fight at light-welterweight, Taylor dethroned Christina Linardatou to win the WBO title after conquering all before her at lightweight.
“It was a terrific achievement for her,” said Frampton.
“She’s a terrific fighter and a lovely girl as well and a role model for people – not just women’s boxing in Ireland but sport in general. She has raised the profile of it and she is a credit to herself and her family.”
Taylor predicted that “the best is yet to come” after she out-boxed Linardatou at the Manchester Arena.
Raw Linardatou threw bombs off both hands but Taylor stayed out of trouble for the most part, boxed to instructions and won the fight on points.
"We knew it was going to be tough but I boxed beautifully on the outside," said Taylor after her win
"I boxed smart for a change instead of getting stuck into a fight."
"Making history again, breaking barriers again. I'm a two-weight world champion and the best is yet to come."
ANTHONY Cacace will have too much power for British super-featherweight champion Sam Bowen, predicts Carl Frampton.
Cacace (17-1), Frampton’s former stablemate at Shane McGuigan’s Gym in London, challenges Bowen (15-0) for his title the same night Frampton does battle against Tyler McCreary in Las Vegas.
Bowen is the bookies favourite but after sparring Cacace regularly, Frampton is tipping the talented Belfast fighter to cause an upset.
“It’s a tough fight against Bowen who is a similar style fighter – they both have long arms and are fantastic punchers,” he said.
“Anto is the hardest person I have ever been hit by. He has got freakish power. He whips his shots in and it’s frightening. He doesn’t have the KOs that his record should have but that is probably more to do with the way he fights. He fights a bit lazy. I fancy Anto but it is going to be a good fight. No, it’s going to be a great fight.”
Meanwhile, Jono Carroll will fight former Frampton foe Scott Quigg on the undercard of Andy Ruiz junior’s WBA super, IBF, WBO and IBO world heavyweight title rematch against Anthony Joshua in Saudia Arabia on December 7.
