With Carl Frampton (27-2, 15 KOs) set to take on Darren Traynor (16-3, 7 KOs) this weekend, in what’s been pretty well established as a tune-up fight, Frampton isn’t even pretending to talk up his opponent as somebody who should really give him trouble, telling RingTV:
“It’s a stay-busy fight and I expect to deal with him. I’m not going to blow it up and tell you about the kid being heavier than me and all that kind of stuff. I should be filling him in and that’s the end of it.”
Frampton continues by saying he expects to look good against Traynor, who is naturally a bigger man, saying he’s even putting a bit of pressure on himself to perform because he wants to demonstrate he still belongs in boxing. The fight Frampton really wants, though, is junior lightweight titleholder Jamel Herring.
“We have a mutual respect for each other and he seems like a nice guy. I’ve never been one to get involved in the bullshit and the trash talk. We’ll both be at our best when the fight happens. I know I will be because I have this dream of becoming a three-weight world champion. It’ll be a top quality fight, but there will always be mutual respect between me and Jamel.”
Frampton, 33, is most recently coming off a unanimous decision against Tyler McCreary last November after dropping a decision to Josh Warrington at the end of 2018. Traynor, 33, has split his last four fights against fighters much less well-regarded than Frampton, so anything less than a Frampton domination would serve as a pretty big surprise.