UNLIKE Carl Frampton, Jamie Moore didn’t have world class boxing skills, but he had a world class fighting heart to go along with top drawer dedication to training.
If Frampton matches that, Moore has no doubt that he’ll get him back to the top and they make their first steps together when ‘the Jackal’ takes on Horacio Garcia at the SSE Arena on the 18th of next month.
The affable Mancunian, being a little too hard on himself, says he “over-achieved” in a career that saw him win titles at Irish (his mother’s family come from Kilkenny) British, Commonwealth and European level and included some memorable tear-ups with the likes of Matt Macklin, Michael Jones and Ryan Rhodes until he retired with a 32-5 record.
He fought in Belfast twice, the second time as chief support for Brian Magee versus Robin Reid at the King’s Hall, and says he “always loved the atmosphere” in Ireland’s fighting capital.
As Frampton’s new trainer, Moore will hope to sample a lot more of the feverish intensity a night at the Belfast fights guarantees. He got a call from Frampton last month asking if he’d be interested in training him?
Of course he would…
“How can you have reservations about training someone as talented as Carl,” said Moore.
“The only reservation I have ever about training people is their temperament and their attitude which is going to then influence the rest of the gym.
“Usually I would invite someone in just to gauge the sort of person they are, but you can tell that from just seeing the way Carl is with people and his demeanor. I’d only met him a couple of times before he rang me to speak about training so I didn’t know-him-know-him, but I could tell that he was a decent guy. So I invited him to the gym.”
Moore hung up his gloves in 2009 and turned to training. He worked with old foe Macklin early on but now operates a gym in Salford where Frampton has fitted in alongside other pros Tommy Coyle (who takes on Belfast’s Tyrone McKenna on October 21) and Rocky Fielding.
“I don’t really do this as a job,” says Moore.
“I do this as a hobby because I love it.
“I didn’t want Carl to say: ‘ok I’ll go and train with you over there’ and then not enjoy himself because I don’t see the point in that. If you’re doing this you have to love it, otherwise it doesn’t really work.
“I wanted to make sure he was happy and he was enjoying himself and at the end of the second day he said: ‘Do you know what? I’m loving boxing again and I’ve not felt like this for a long time’.
“He said he thought the atmosphere was great and that me and him had clicked straight away. He asked me: ’Can we make it official tomorrow’ and I said: ‘That’s fine with me, I’m looking forward to it.’”
In this age of social media, the next step was the Twitter pic and things have rolled on smoothly, if dramatically, from there. Frampton announced that MTK were his new managers and the following week Frank Warren was confirmed as his new promoter.
It’s all shiny and new as Frampton begins the final, definitive chapter of his career. At 30, he still has time on his side and the skills and experience to surpass where he was. The only question is whether, having achieved so much already, he still has the hunger to come through the really hard yards. Moore intends to work him hard, but that is par for boxing’s tough course. He says “the engine is already built” and wants him to be “fresh and eager” when he ducks through the ropes on November 18.
“In my gym we have the craic and we have a laugh but they all know that when my demeanor changes they have to get down to it and do the work,” he said.
“I know I’ll be capable of getting the best out of Carl Frampton because, even from the small window of the last couple of weeks, I can see that he’s such a good fighter naturally.
“You get a lot of people blowing smoke up trainers’ backsides saying they’re the best thing since sliced bread but I’m not a big believer in someone being a great trainer – I know you’re only as good as the fighters you work with and I know I can do a great job with Carl.
“Tactically I can get him back on track and sharpness-wise I understand the science behind training and how your body changes by the time you get to 30 years old. You have to adapt and understand your body and, don’t forget, I’ve been there and I know what it’s like to be a 30 year-old fighter who is carrying injuries and how you have to change your training and slow down a little bit.
“I know what Carl has got to do now. He can’t train like a 24-25 year-old, he doesn’t need to because by the time you’re 30 you engine is built, you don’t need to keep pushing and pushing.
“From what I can gather he’s been fighting tired but he’s still been performing. Can you imagine what he’s going to be like when he’s fresh and eager and enjoying himself? If he’s been fighting tired, not really enjoying the sport and looking for the exit, what’s he going to be performing like when he’s thriving and he’s enthused?
Moore was a southpaw pressure fighter, while Frampton is an orthodox counter-puncher. The pair of them are polar opposites in style and Moore has no intention of trying to change Frampton at this stage of his career.
“My job is to sharpen his tools up, get him ready to box fitness-wise, make sure he makes the weight and set the tactics; the right tactics with a back-up plan and another back-up plan,” he said.
“I don’t really have to change him at all, watching the second Santa Cruz fight, he just got his tactics wrong.
“Both fights were close fights but Santa Cruz looked at the first fight and thought ‘what do I have to do to beat him next time?’ He changed his tactics slightly and Carl didn’t and that’s what lost him the fight. They’re really evenly matched those two and it’s always going to be a tough night but my job is to adjust a few things and I believe he can beat Santa Cruz and beat him handily down the stretch.”
Moore admits that Frampton’s ability and class has already surprised him. In early sparring sessions he had to keep the Tigers Bay featherweight on a short leash and he’s looking forward to the night when he can let him off it.
“I knew how good he was but when you have it in front of you…,” he said with a smile.
“In sparring you can see the difference and I had to have him on a lead, pulling him back which is great thing because once I take him off the leash and allow him to go through the gears fresh and happy, I think you will see a different animal.
“I don’t feel pressure because as long as I do my job properly and tick every box and I’ve got faith in Carl’s ability. Win or lose, I know he’ll perform. It be because he’s not ready to perform or I’ve got the tactics wrong, if and when he loses a fight it’ll be because the other guy has been the better guy on the night.
“I never leave any stone unturned and I make sure that we can turn around, win or lose, any say ‘you know what, that wasn’t our fault’. He’ll be in the best condition, he’ll have the right gameplan and I know for a fact that he’s going to look special.”
