By Arne K. Lang
Carl Frampton dreamed about displaying his wares in historic Windsor Park, the home of Northern Ireland’s national soccer team, and when the day finally came he was upstaged by a big galoot from across the Irish Sea in Manchester. The locals may have been more interested in seeing Frampton and his Belfast buddy Paddy Barnes, but globally the fulcrum of the show was Tyson Fury who appeared in a supporting bout against former sparring partner Francesco Pianeta.
At the weigh-in, Fury, who turned 30 this week, tipped the scale at 258 pounds, 18 pounds lighter than 10 weeks ago when he launched his comeback. Pianeta, four inches shorter than Fury at 6’5”, weighed a career high 254 ½, quite a departure from Fury’s first comeback opponent, Sefir Sefiri, a pipsqueak by comparison.
Fury vs. Pianeta went the full 10 and although Fury won every round, the self-styled Gypsy King did nothing to temper the opinion of those that don't fancy his chances against Deontay Wilder. Pianeta seldom let his hands go in what was an uneventful and rather boring fight, and Fury’s punches carried little steam.
After the fight, Fury said that his performance was calculated to get in rounds and shed more ring rust. After the fight, both Wilder and Frank Warren, Fury’s promoter, said that Wilder vs. Fury was a done deal and that the date and venue would be firmed up in the coming week. Insiders expect the bout to transpire in November in Las Vegas.
Frampton
The rains came and came hard midway through the Fury-Pianeta fight and continued into the evening but that didn’t dim the enthusiasm of Carl Frampton’s supporters who welcomed him into the ring with a thunderous ovation. And Frampton, a former two-weight world champion, didn’t disappoint in his bout with the Aussie Luke Jackson, a scheduled 12-rounder for an interim WBC belt.
Jackson, who was 16-0 coming in, was game to the very end, but he was systematically broken down by Frampton who was the stronger man with heavier hands. In round eight, Frampton knocked Jackson to his knees with a harsh left hook to the rib cage and one could sense that the outclassed Aussie wasn’t likely to last the distance. The end came in the next round when Frampton landed another hard body shot followed by a looping left hand that snapped Jackson’s head back. At virtually that same moment, a towel came flying into the ring from Jackson’s corner. The official time was 1:21 of round nine.
Frampton improved to 26-1 with his 16[SUP]th[/SUP] stoppage. He is expected to challenge IBF featherweight title holder Josh Warrington in December.
Paddy Barnes
A wicked body shot also factored into Paddy Barnes’ fight with defending WBC world flyweight champion Cristofer Rosales, but this punch left the crowd crestfallen.
Rosales (26-3, 19 KOs) ended matters in the fourth round with a wicked body punch that left Barnes on the canvas, writhing in pain, unable to beat the count.
Barnes, who had only five pro fights under his belt but a sterling amateur pedigree, bit off more than he could chew. The bookies weren’t fooled as Nicaragua’s Rosales, eight years the younger man at age twenty-three, opened a 5/2 favorite.
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