BELFAST, Northern Ireland -- On August 18 Carl Frampton (25-1, 14 KOs) will fight in front of his hometown fans for a third consecutive time. The two previous bouts were both wins for Frampton and he hopes for more of the same against Australia's Luke Jackson (16-0, 7 KOs). On the line will be Frampton's WBO interim featherweight title and the fight will stream live on Showtime's Facebook and YouTube pages.
Frampton fights out of the orthodox stance and works behind a good jab. He keeps his right hand planted on his chin, ready to unleash when necessary. Frampton's straight right hand is probably his best punch and while he doesn't have one-punch knockout power, he does have enough pop to get his opponent's respect. Along with his jab and right hand Frampton also has a quality left hook that he can score with. Defensively is where Frampton has shown vulnerability. He has been dropped before and usually gets off to slow starts.
The best year of Frampton's career came in 2016 when he was named Big Time Boxing's Fighter of the Year and beat Scott Quigg and Leo Santa Cruz. That win over Cruz remains the biggest victory of Frampton's career but in their rematch a year later he didn't have a smart game plan and was picked apart by Santa Cruz. Since that loss, the first of Frampton's career, he has gone 2-0 including a win over an aging Nonito Donaire. There are plenty of big fights for Frampton in the featherweight division but first he will need to take care of business against Jackson.
Jackson is an orthodox fighter without much power to speak of. He doesn't make much use of his jab and instead relies on wild left hooks and big right hands to score with. To his credit he does put in good work to the body with both hands and he's at his best on the inside. On the outside Jackson doesn't do much and will often let his opponents finish their attack before starting his own. If he does that against Frampton he might not get the chance to go on the attack so he can't let Frampton dictate the distance.
Jackson didn't start fighting professionally until he was 28 years old. He's now 33 years old and his fight with Frampton will be the first time he's fought outside of his native Australia. Frampton also represents a massive step-up in competition for Jackson whose last opponent had a record of 7-8. In his five year career Jackson has never faced a truly notable opponent and beating Frampton would radically alter his career.
This fight should be a one-sided affair in favor of Frampton. He has the speed and skills advantage and he's fought far better opposition than Jackson. Look for Frampton to work off his jab and keep Jackson at the end of it. Meanwhile, Jackson will be trying to get inside where he can touch Frampton to the body and slow him down later in the fight. If Jackson can get to Frampton's body early he should have opportunities to land big shots upstairs late. However, that won't be an easy thing to do and when he does try to get inside he will have to first eat plenty of leather from Frampton.
PREDICTION: Carl Frampton might have himself a Nonito Donaire type career where after he won a Fighter of the Year award his career took a downward turn. However, he is still plenty good enough to beat Luke Jackson. Jackson will give a strong effort but Frampton will win this fight by the way of unanimous decision.
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| Frampton catching Nonito Donaire with a right hand |
The best year of Frampton's career came in 2016 when he was named Big Time Boxing's Fighter of the Year and beat Scott Quigg and Leo Santa Cruz. That win over Cruz remains the biggest victory of Frampton's career but in their rematch a year later he didn't have a smart game plan and was picked apart by Santa Cruz. Since that loss, the first of Frampton's career, he has gone 2-0 including a win over an aging Nonito Donaire. There are plenty of big fights for Frampton in the featherweight division but first he will need to take care of business against Jackson.
Jackson is an orthodox fighter without much power to speak of. He doesn't make much use of his jab and instead relies on wild left hooks and big right hands to score with. To his credit he does put in good work to the body with both hands and he's at his best on the inside. On the outside Jackson doesn't do much and will often let his opponents finish their attack before starting his own. If he does that against Frampton he might not get the chance to go on the attack so he can't let Frampton dictate the distance.
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| Jackson snapping his opponent's head back with a right hand |
This fight should be a one-sided affair in favor of Frampton. He has the speed and skills advantage and he's fought far better opposition than Jackson. Look for Frampton to work off his jab and keep Jackson at the end of it. Meanwhile, Jackson will be trying to get inside where he can touch Frampton to the body and slow him down later in the fight. If Jackson can get to Frampton's body early he should have opportunities to land big shots upstairs late. However, that won't be an easy thing to do and when he does try to get inside he will have to first eat plenty of leather from Frampton.
PREDICTION: Carl Frampton might have himself a Nonito Donaire type career where after he won a Fighter of the Year award his career took a downward turn. However, he is still plenty good enough to beat Luke Jackson. Jackson will give a strong effort but Frampton will win this fight by the way of unanimous decision.
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