Sooner or later they all sign up. That’s the general pattern when it comes to fighters and the allure of boxing’s most mysterious, ghost-like figure.
That figure is of course Al Haymon, a man with somewhere north of 200 fighters singed up for the ‘Haymon treatment’, with more and more appearing on his Premier Boxing Champions shows.
The latest boxer to sign up is Ireland’s boy wonder, Carl Frampton. The 28-year-old is hot property, indeed, and currently possesses the IBF Junior Featherweight belt. Highly regarded by sanctioning bodies – and BoxingBase.com – he most famously both stopped and outpointed pressure-cooker Kiko Martinez.
Frampton (20-0, 14 KO) is doing rather well for himself. The only thing missing is another top-level scalp – which could be acquired from fighters such as Guillermo Rigondeaux and Leo Santa Cruz. But as is the case in boxing, fight fans often have to wait a while to see the most desired fights.
Anyway, Frampton is signed up and ready to receive some…well, whatever it is Haymon offers his clients. He is an adviser, which involves advising on…stuff. Yeah, it’s a kind of vague area.
It becomes even more perplexing when you consider Haymon is not going to become Frampton’s new manager or even promoter. No, none of that. Instead, ex-champion Barry McGuigan – another Irish favorite and hero – will remain Frampton’s manager and promoter. The Cyclone Promotion’s team can now breathe a sigh of relief…
On a slightly related note, it was recently announced that Scott Quigg (Frampton’s British rival) is set to face Kiko Martinez in Manchester on July 18th. This isn’t a terrible headliner, but it has to be said UK fight fans may be growing tired of seeing the Spanish bull.
What they’d rather see is an all domestic dust up between Frampton and Quigg (30-0-2, 22 KO). Now that would be tasty – but again, is one we probably won’t see for quite some time. Perhaps Haymon can use his magical ‘advising powers’ to finally create this encounter?
What do you think of Carl Frampton’s move into Al Haymon’s stable? Good thing? Bad thing? Could this open doors to big US fights with bigger names? Let us know your opinions below.
The BoxingBase.com writing staff provide worldwide boxing news, coverage and analysis – they can be contacted via email and social media.
