BoxRec

Press Release

Former world featherweight champion Carl "The Jackal" Frampton (pictured) will fight Scottish veteran Darren "Trayn-Wreck" Traynor in a ten-round lightweight bout this Saturday, August 15th. Frampton was supposed to face Vahram Vardanyan, but visa issues forced Vardanyan to pull out of the fight last week. Traynor (16-3, 7 KOs), from Aberdeen, Scotland, is a nine-year pro and former two-weight Scottish champion who once challenged for the British super featherweight title. He had been training as a potential fill-in opponent, so when the call came to fight a Frampton, he did not hesitate. He's split his last four bouts, most recently winning a decision over veteran Des Newton at lightweight.

In the ten-round co-feature, featherweight Michael "Mick" Conlan (13-0, 7 KO) will face Sofiane Takoucht (35-4-1, 13 KOs). The Frampton-Traynor and Conlan-Takoucht bouts will be televised live in the United States on ESPN and ESPN Deportes beginning at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT. Undercard bouts, including the return of Top Rank and MTK Global welterweight Paddy "Real Deal" Donovan (3-0, 2 KOs), will stream live on ESPN+ starting at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT.

"The show must go on, and Carl needed a fight after a pretty long layoff," said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. "His goal is to become Ireland's first three-weight world champion, and after he's victorious on Saturday, we will do everything we can to give him that opportunity."

Said Frampton, "I'm delighted to get an opponent over the line. I have to credit MTK Global for seeing there could have been issues with the original opponent getting into the country, and they have been paying Darren Traynor for a number of weeks to train. He'll be in decent shape and will be up for it as well. There is no pressure on him, but it is up to me to look good. I want to be taking this guy out and then moving on to think about Jamel Herring. I can't be complacent in the slightest. I know I'm the big favorite in the fight, but I want to win and want to look good, and I want to win by knockout. I feel like he's a better opponent as he's fought at a higher level than Vardanyan, and he's coming in at lightweight. I haven't made my debut at junior lightweight yet and I'm already jumping in at lightweight, so that's obviously a little bit in his favor, but I'm looking forward to not having to struggle at all in fight week and then putting on an explosive show."

allegedly, who co-promotes Frampton, aaded, "Carl is gunning for a third world title at a third different weight and cannot afford any mishaps on Saturday night. Darren Traynor is ready to step in and fully prepared to give Carl the competitive fight he needs before heading into a WBO world championship battle against Jamel Herring, hopefully, later this year."

“Unfortunately, Vahram had visa issues, which was something that we had envisioned as a possible scenario. We reached out to Darren Traynor and his team to be ready in case this situation had come out this way," said MTK Global Vice President Jamie Conlan.
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Frampton vs. Vardanyan, Conlan vs. Takoucht - Set For August 15

THE FOURTH SHOW of BT Sport's exciting summer schedule has been brought forward and will now take place on Saturday August 15 with the addition of Belfast stars Carl Frampton and Michael Conlan to the card.

The BT Sport-televised show was initially listed to take place on Thursday August 20, but now switches to the previous weekend with the significant bonus of two-weight world champion Frampton and featherweight contender Conlan being drafted into action.

The originally scheduled headliner between Archie Sharp and Jeff Ofori for the WBO European super featherweight title remains on the card along with an IBF European Super-Welterweight title defence for Troy Williamson.

Elite and hugely popular prospect Dennis McCann rounds out the card.

Frampton, 33, who is awaiting confirmation of his challenge to WBO world super featherweight champion Jamel Herring, will take on the Armenian Vahram Vardanyan, who holds a record of 21-1-1.

The Jackal (27-2-0) last fought in November in Las Vegas when he outpointed Tyler McCreary over 10 rounds.

Conlan (13-0), 28, who holds both the WBA and WBO Intercontinental titles, goes up against the experienced Frenchman Sofiane Takoucht (35-4-1).

The Frampton-Vardanyan and Conlan-Takoucht bouts will be televised live on ESPN and ESPN Deportes, Saturday, August 15, beginning at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT. Undercard bouts will stream live on ESPN+ starting at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT.

Takoucht, 34, has been stopped only once in his professional career and is a former IBF International champion and world title challenger. His single stoppage came in his full IBF title challenge against Josh Warrington in Leeds back in October of last year.

The unbeaten super featherweight Sharp will clock up his 19th professional fight against the 10-2-1 Tottenham man Ofori. It will represent a fourth defence of his WBO European title for the 25-year-old.

Unbeaten Darlington man Williamson defends his title and his record on the show whilst thrilling prospect McCann, just 19, will be having his seventh professional fight since turning pro in May last year.

Not a bad keep busy fight for Frampton

Well 21-1 looks good, but a closer look isnt as flattering. Very padded record, almost all wins over opponents with losing records, and with a loss to a 9-30 guy (now 12-59) and draw to 5-11 (now 5-21), and only won by sd last time vs some rando 19-10 African.

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑24 Jul 2020, 05:04
The unbeaten super featherweight Sharp will clock up his 19th professional fight against the 10-2-1 Tottenham man Ofori

I mean, I would've thought that 18 fights against Ofori would've been enough at least

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑24 Jul 2020, 12:24

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑24 Jul 2020, 05:04
The unbeaten super featherweight Sharp will clock up his 19th professional fight against the 10-2-1 Tottenham man Ofori

I mean, I would've thought that 18 fights against Ofori would've been enough at least

You always nit-picking these press releases,

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑24 Jul 2020, 12:24

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑24 Jul 2020, 05:04
The unbeaten super featherweight Sharp will clock up his 19th professional fight against the 10-2-1 Tottenham man Ofori

I mean, I would've thought that 18 fights against Ofori would've been enough at least

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑24 Jul 2020, 12:18 Well 21-1 looks good, but a closer look isnt as flattering. Very padded record, almost all wins over opponents with losing records, and with a loss to a 9-30 guy (now 12-59) and draw to 5-11 (now 5-21), and only won by sd last time vs some rando 19-10 African.

Yeah he’s an Armenian Bin Man.....getting his payday for 21-1-1 record that looks good on paper as you say but in reality he’s just slightly above journeyman at best.

Imagine my surprise to see that his only fight outside of Latvia/Lithuania resulted in a loss.

Still, you don't win an IBA International Title Belt for nothing.

You’d think they’d sort that shit out before announcing fights..

I know Warren's got previous for this carry on with Visas and last minute call offs, i wouldn't be surprised if Arum left it in his hands

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑06 Aug 2020, 06:25 You’d think they’d sort that poo out before announcing fights..

I agree thats amazing to me how many fights get cancelled because of visa issues.

handsofstone wrote: ↑09 Aug 2020, 08:04 I know Warren's got previous for this carry on with Visas and last minute call offs, i wouldn't be surprised if Arum left it in his hands

I was gonna say.. obviously this is a TR promoted event, but Warren always co-promotes these bouts when it’s on this side of the Atlantic. Who knows what went on.

Can they not find him a decent BrItish opponent? A not so risky one.

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑09 Aug 2020, 09:24

handsofstone wrote: ↑09 Aug 2020, 08:04 I know Warren's got previous for this carry on with Visas and last minute call offs, i wouldn't be surprised if Arum left it in his hands

I was gonna say.. obviously this is a TR promoted event, but Warren always co-promotes these bouts when it’s on this side of the Atlantic. Who knows what went on.

Can they not find him a decent BrItish opponent? A not so risky one.

I seen Darren Traynor's name been banded about, mismatch surely but him being Scottish gives a slight personal interest but the replacement shoudve been swift

Ever since Gutierrez slipped in the shower, Frampton's luck has been downhill, it's a shame coz he's one of my fav guys out there and at this stage he could do without

The original guy was a very weak opponent anyway, i mean ya surely they could just get someone locally?

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑09 Aug 2020, 14:13 The original guy was a very weak opponent anyway, i mean ya surely they could just get someone locally?

Yeh, just cuz someone is foreign with a bit of a padded record, they just hype it more..

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑09 Aug 2020, 14:38

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑09 Aug 2020, 14:13 The original guy was a very weak opponent anyway, i mean ya surely they could just get someone locally?

Yeh, just cuz someone is foreign with a bit of a padded record, they just hype it more..

"International Boxing"

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑09 Aug 2020, 14:43

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑09 Aug 2020, 14:38

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑09 Aug 2020, 14:13 The original guy was a very weak opponent anyway, i mean ya surely they could just get someone locally?

Yeh, just cuz someone is foreign with a bit of a padded record, they just hype it more..

"International Boxing"

Sounds better than ‘domestic boxing’ eh?

Press Release

Former world featherweight champion Carl "The Jackal" Frampton (pictured) will fight Scottish veteran Darren "Trayn-Wreck" Traynor in a ten-round lightweight bout this Saturday, August 15th. Frampton was supposed to face Vahram Vardanyan, but visa issues forced Vardanyan to pull out of the fight last week. Traynor (16-3, 7 KOs), from Aberdeen, Scotland, is a nine-year pro and former two-weight Scottish champion who once challenged for the British super featherweight title. He had been training as a potential fill-in opponent, so when the call came to fight a Frampton, he did not hesitate. He's split his last four bouts, most recently winning a decision over veteran Des Newton at lightweight.

In the ten-round co-feature, featherweight Michael "Mick" Conlan (13-0, 7 KO) will face Sofiane Takoucht (35-4-1, 13 KOs). The Frampton-Traynor and Conlan-Takoucht bouts will be televised live in the United States on ESPN and ESPN Deportes beginning at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT. Undercard bouts, including the return of Top Rank and MTK Global welterweight Paddy "Real Deal" Donovan (3-0, 2 KOs), will stream live on ESPN+ starting at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT.

"The show must go on, and Carl needed a fight after a pretty long layoff," said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. "His goal is to become Ireland's first three-weight world champion, and after he's victorious on Saturday, we will do everything we can to give him that opportunity."

Said Frampton, "I'm delighted to get an opponent over the line. I have to credit MTK Global for seeing there could have been issues with the original opponent getting into the country, and they have been paying Darren Traynor for a number of weeks to train. He'll be in decent shape and will be up for it as well. There is no pressure on him, but it is up to me to look good. I want to be taking this guy out and then moving on to think about Jamel Herring. I can't be complacent in the slightest. I know I'm the big favorite in the fight, but I want to win and want to look good, and I want to win by knockout. I feel like he's a better opponent as he's fought at a higher level than Vardanyan, and he's coming in at lightweight. I haven't made my debut at junior lightweight yet and I'm already jumping in at lightweight, so that's obviously a little bit in his favor, but I'm looking forward to not having to struggle at all in fight week and then putting on an explosive show."

allegedly, who co-promotes Frampton, aaded, "Carl is gunning for a third world title at a third different weight and cannot afford any mishaps on Saturday night. Darren Traynor is ready to step in and fully prepared to give Carl the competitive fight he needs before heading into a WBO world championship battle against Jamel Herring, hopefully, later this year."

“Unfortunately, Vahram had visa issues, which was something that we had envisioned as a possible scenario. We reached out to Darren Traynor and his team to be ready in case this situation had come out this way," said MTK Global Vice President Jamie Conlan.

Frank should gone big and saved the show my making Frampton V Sharp. That would have been a real fight. Another Troy Williamson opponent (McGurk)dropped out (nobody seems to want to fight this guy). As it stands a pretty bad show.

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑09 Aug 2020, 14:47

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑09 Aug 2020, 14:43

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑09 Aug 2020, 14:38

Yeh, just cuz someone is foreign with a bit of a padded record, they just hype it more..

"International Boxing"

Sounds better than ‘domestic boxing’ eh?

“Domestic boxing” sounds like what happens to my auntie when Everton lose

I'm happy for Traynor, what an opportunity for him, nothing to lose no pressure, he has a go so lets hope he can bring some heat, he rocked Walsh and Tennyson before getting stopped, I give him next to no hope here though, Frampton looked against McCreary, he might be on the slide but he's still levels above these guys, I think he'll stop Traynor to the body

Its a warm up fight, nothing more nothing less.

Michael ConIan, Carl Frampton: The boxing duo using each other as inspiration on boxing return

There may be no fight fans in attendance, but when Northern Irish boxing duo Michael Conlan and Carl Frampton step back into the ring on Saturday, they will have the backing of their biggest supporters: each other.

Conlan (13-0, 7 KOs), 28, boxes Ardennes, France-based Sofiane Takoucht (35-4-1, 13 KOs) in his first fight since he beat Russian Vladimir Nikitin via unanimous points decision at Madison Square Garden, New York, last December.

Conlan has spent the last two months training in London and is aiming to eventually become a three-weight world champion along with friend Frampton, who is also boxing on Saturday's ESPN+ show at a television studio in London without fans due to coronavirus restrictions.

Frampton has already won belts at junior featherweight and featherweight and has been an inspiration for Conlan, who is five years younger and now operating two weight divisions below.

"Becoming a three-weight world champion would be creating history for Irish boxing as no one has done it before," Conlan told ESPN.

"Hopefully Carl can beat me to it, but if he doesn't do then I will be doing my best to become the first Irish boxer to be a three-weight world champion. I'm friends with Carl and in my opinion he's the best boxer from here [Northern Ireland and Ireland] ever with what he has achieved. He's the best fighter we've had from here.

"It gives you inspiration and belief seeing what he has done. He has come from the same working class background as me, same city, and I know him, so yeah, it's inspiring. I want to emulate that or even better what he has done. If Carl doesn't do it [three-weight world champion], I want to do it."

Frampton (27-2, 15 KOs), 33, who faces Darren Traynor (16-3, 7 KOs) in a ten-round non-title bout on Saturday, is a big admirer of Conlan's skill set and is convinced he will fulfil his potential.

Frampton told ESPN: "He's one of the most skilled boxers I've seen and certainly the most skilled fighter from Ireland.

"I always thought he was a big featherweight but he knows his body more than anyone else and says he can do 122 lbs, so he's going to be a very hard task for anyone at junior featherweight."

Meanwhile, Conlan reckons he can eat some of his own baking creations and still make the junior featherweight limit.

"I could have made junior featherweight for this fight against Takoucht, but it is actually going to be at featherweight," Conlan said.

"I can make junior featherweight easily so I've not had to be too strict with my diet. When I'm making weight I can probably eat a bit of cake and still make junior featherweight."

Conlan is dropping down a division after finding he could comfortably make the junior featherweight limit of 122 lbs since beating Nikitin.

"It's a natural move to 122 lbs, it's not about titles or anything else," Conlan added.

"I put going to 122 lbs on hold for a bit and for the Nikitin fight. There was nothing in the pipeline during lockdown, no fights, so I started eating normally again. I've always been in the gym and making weight and I don't think that's healthy all the time. The lockdown gave me time to press the reset button and the weight has just come naturally.

"The realization that I could easily make 122 lbs and be strong at that weight made the decision of where I should be boxing. It's always been my dream to be a three-weight world champion -- junior featherweight, featherweight and junior lightweight -- and that's possible again now.

"I'm naturally stronger at 122 lbs and I'm stronger now after the lockdown period than I was before it. I'm doing a lot more with strength and explosiveness than I have in my whole career, I feel I'm coming into my prime."

Conlan, who won a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics and turned professional after controversy ended his 2016 Olympics, hopes to face the winner of recently-crowned WBO junior featherweight champion Angelo Leo (20-0, 9 KOs), from Las Vegas, against Stephen Fulton (18-0, 8 KOs), from Philadelphia.

"I was ranked No. 1 as a featherweight with the WBO so I'm going to be in a mandatory position and will fight the winner of Angelo Leo versus Stephen Fulton," Conlan added.

"The move to 122 lbs -- it's not like it just came along, it's happened naturally and was looking that way before Nikitin. I've got myself in the best shape I've ever been in, I've trained right through since the Nikitin fight."

Good little article there RKO.

There’s been a refreshing lack of Conlan vs Frampton talk.

Navarette and Stevenson are very very hard fights. Angelo Leo, who I’ve admittedly seen quite little of, is a good style match up for Mick. Anyone with a lack of power just gets shitted on but you can definitely win a few world titles without it.