August 15: Darren Traynor steps in to face history chasing Carl Frampton
Carl "The Jackal" Frampton will fight veteran Darren Traynor in a 10-round lightweight bout on August 15. Frampton was supposed to face Vahram Vardanyan, but visa issues forced Vardanyan to pull out.
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."
"Carl is gunning for a third world title at a third different weight and cannot afford any mishaps on Saturday night," said Frank Warren, who co-promotes Frampton.
"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.
“People could argue I am Ireland’s greatest ever fighter right now... a third world title cements that place ahead of Collins, Barry McGuigan, Katie Taylor...”
— Frank Warren (@frankwarren_tv) August 10, 2020
🎥 Watch highlights of today’s press conference feat @RealCFrampton, @archiesharp95, @TROJAN_91, @ODennismccann pic.twitter.com/rava3QAs1j