Fast Results from Dubai: Herring Dominates Frampton; Stops Him in the 6th

Late bloomer Jamel Herring turned in a career-best performance in Dubai, stopping gutsy but out-gunned Carl Frampton in the sixth round. In the process, the 35-year-old ex-Marine and former Olympian improved to 23-2 (11 KOs) while successfully defending his WBO 130-pound title.

On paper, this was a highly competitive match, but Herring, who had a five-inch height advantage and a seven-inch reach advantage, was too long and too good for the Irishman from Belfast who was bidding to become the first fighter from the Emerald Isle to win world titles in three weight divisions.

Herring won the early rounds, but those that bet on him had an anxious moment in round four when he suffered a cut over his right eye, the same optic that was badly damaged in his previous fight. In round five, just as it appeared that the momentum was shifting in Frampton’s favor, Herring knocked him down with a straight left hand. In the following round he knocked the Irishman down again, a delayed reaction from a scorching uppercut. Frampton made it to his feet and absorbed a few more punches before his corner appropriately tossed in the towel.

This bout came off after multiple postponements. Last year, Herring twice tested positive for the coronavirus but, unlike Alexander Povetkin last week, there were no lingering after-effects. Herring’s win was also a win for  Omaha trainer Brian McIntyre who his best known for training Terence Crawford.

After the fight, Frampton announced his retirement. Named the 2016 Fighter of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America, he exits with a record of 28-3.

Co-Feature

In the co-feature, Filipino super flyweight Donnie Nietes, who turns 39 next month, returned after a 27-month hiatus to win a 10-round decision over Columbia’s Pablo Carrillo. Nietes, who won his first title at 105 pounds, controlled the match with his jab, but his punches didn’t carry a lot of steam. The judges had it 99-91, 98- 92, 96-95. Nietes improved to 43-1-5 (23). Carrillo, durable but limited, falls to 25-8-1.

Other Bouts

Super welterweight Tursynbay Kulakhmet, a 27-year-old Kazakh, blasted out Venezuela’s Heber Rondon in the opening round.  Kulakhmet, who has been training under Jamie Moore who handles Carl Frampton, among others, is on the fast track. He bumped his record to 3-0 (2) in his second scheduled 10-round fight.

Kalakhmet had Rondon in the canvas twice, the result of right hooks, the second of which landed with such force that the referee immediately waived the fight off. Rondon entered the match with a 20-0 record, but had no business in the same ring with the Kazakh. Remove one of his former opponents from the equation – the fellow with the 13-0 ledger – and his 19 other opponents had only three wins between them! The official time was 1:40.

Lightweight Keyshawn Davis advanced to 2-0 (2) with a stoppage of ridiculously overmatched Richman Ashelley (10-2) whose corner pulled him out after four rounds. Davis’s tools have drawn comparison to that of his good friend Shakur Stevenson.

A very attractive 10-round junior welterweight match between Kazakhstan’s well-traveled Zhankosh Turarov and Belfast’s Tyrone McKenna was unfortunately scratched when Turarov tested positive for the coronavirus.

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