Carl Frampton rival Jamel Herring defends WBO belt to Jonathan Oquendo in next fight
Steven Nelson vs DeAndre Ware super-middleweight bout to serve as co-feature
WBO super-feather world champion Jamel “Semper Fi” Herring (21-2, 10KOs), a decorated U.S. Marine veteran from Coram, New York, will make his second world title defence on Saturday, September 5 against Puerto Rican challenger Jonathan Oquendo (31-6, 19KOs) at the MGM Grand Conference Center.
Herring and Oquendo were scheduled to fight July 2, then July 14, but Herring twice tested positive for COVID-19.
With two-weight world champion and intended future opponent Carl Frampton (27-2, 15KOs) facing Aberdeen's Darren Traynor (16-3, 7KOs) three weeks prior on August 15, it means that the pair will have equal preparation for their proposed October showdown, providing they each come through their next assignments successfully and unscathed.
Frampton was initially gearing up to challenge Herring in May this year, but the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled all hopes of that.
‘Semper Fi’ got into the ring for a face-off with Frampton after his most recent victory over Tyler McCreary in Las Vegas and it didn’t go unnoticed how much bigger the American world champion was.
‘The Jackal’ wasn’t as impressed as some, however, “If you look at that picture, when he got in the ring after my last fight, he looked about 12 stone… I’m thinking ‘he’s got to make 9stone 4'. It’ll hurt him to do the weight a lot more than me.”
Frampton is sure that Herring's size won't be the deciding factor when they meet and was adamant that he sees serious flaws in his adversary's game.
“I think he can be outboxed. His feet are slow, he doesn’t punch that fast either. In the middle rounds he gets a little bit lazy. It’s almost like he cruises and doesn’t want to exert too much energy.”
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum plans to make Herring-Frampton in October.
Herring-Oquendo and Nelson-Ware will stream live on ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET, with undercard action to stream on ESPN+ beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET.
In the 10-round super-middleweight co-feature, it’s a battle of the Midwest as Omaha’s unbeaten Steven “So Cold” Nelson takes on Toledo’s DeAndre Ware.
“Jamel has had a run of bad luck, but his fortunes will change for the better inside the ‘Bubble’ on September 5,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “Oquendo is a crafty veteran who understands this may be his last shot at a world title, and I expect him to give ‘The Fighting Marine’ one heck of a fight.”
Herring said, “This postponement is a blessing in disguise because I feel 10 times better than I did three weeks ago. I’m grateful to have another opportunity to get back in the ring. I’ve fully recovered from COVID-19 and I’m more than ready for anything Jonathan Oquendo brings on September 5. Our team has a great game plan and we are eager to carry it out.”
Oquendo said, “I am very happy with finally getting this opportunity to challenge Herring for his world title, as the fight has been canceled twice because of COVID-19. At one point, I thought that maybe the fight was not going to happen, but thanks to God, we are now ready for September 5.
“We are going to win. We are in a very positive mindset. We are going to leave everything in the ring. It’s now or never. It would be a great accomplishment to become world champion at 37. That’s what we are going to do."
Herring returns following the longest layoff of his career, nearly 10 months since he outpointed the previously unbeaten Lamont Roach Jr. at an outdoor ballpark in Fresno, Calif. Soon after his most recent positive COVID-19 test, he received a clean bill of health and resumed training camp in Omaha, Nebraska.
Oquendo rebounded from a March 2019 decision defeat to Roach to shut out Charles Huerta last September. He is 5-1 since a December 2015 defeat to Jesus Cuellar for the WBA featherweight world title.
Nelson (16-0, 13 KOs), who trains alongside Herring and pound-for-pound king Terence Crawford in Omaha, recently moved down from light-heavyweight and is ranked No.8 by the WBO at super-middleweight. He last fought in January, knocking out then-unbeaten prospect Cem Kilic on ESPN. A talented artist who designs his fight night attire, he entered the ring as The Grinch with a Santa hat against Kilic, Nelson hopes to notch his fourth knockout in a row. Ware (13-2-2, 8 KOs), a Toledo firefighter when he’s not fighting in the ring, is two fights removed from a February 2019 decision win over the previously unbeaten Ronald Ellis.
Nelson said, “I’ve been training and staying ready in Omaha with my team. Now it’s time to clock in for overtime. No audience? I don’t need cheers to do my job. I’m focused on the task at hand, which is to defeat DeAndre Ware.”
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