Carl Frampton aims to finish unfortunate year on high note
Carl Frampton looks back and sees what he calls a “horrific” year. There’s only one way to forget the horror. Start over.
Frampton will get that chance on November 30 when he faces Tyler McCreary in a 128-pound bout on a card that will also feature Oscar Valdez Jr.’s debut at junior-lightweight against Andres Gutierrez at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas on ESPN+.
“I’m delighted to be making a comeback after what has been a horrific year in my career,” Frampton said of a card formally announced by Top Rank on Tuesday. “I didn’t get the Top Rank deal off to an ideal start, but coming back in Vegas is great for me, especially against a really strong opponent. It needed to be someone who would test me.
“It’s what I want, it’s what ESPN wants, what MTK Global wants and what Top Rank wants, so I’m 100 percent confident it’s the right move for me. McCreary is a quality opponent, but if I want to be competing against the top guys in the world, which I believe I can, then I need to be beating guys like him and doing it in style.”
Carl Frampton is determined to get things going in the right direction again against Tyler McCreary. Luke Walker / Getty Images for Sport Industry Group
For Frampton, it’s been a year that included a freak accident. A pillar, called a “large ornament” in U.K. media, landed on his left hand in a hotel lobby in August. A fracture forced the Belfast fighter to withdraw from a fight with Mexican Emmanuel Dominguez.
In December, there was a stunning loss to Josh Warrington. Then there was a court case with former manager Barry McGuigan.
Now Frampton (26-2, 15 KOs), a former junior featherweight and featherweight champion, starts anew against McCreary (16-0-1, 7 KOs), of Toledo, Ohio, with plans to stay away from hotel ornaments while seeking to regain the belted ornaments he once possessed.
“I’m delighted we’ve got Carl out again before the end of the year,” said Frank Warren, Frampton’s co-promoter. “He had a tough time of it in August with the freak injury, which meant he couldn’t fight as planned.
“In this fight against McCreary, I believe Carl will prove that he is still an elite fighter and will be fighting for world titles again before long.”