FORMER TWO-WEIGHT WORLD champion Carl Frampton will fight Mexican featherweight Horacio ‘Violento’ Garcia in his hometown comeback bout on 18 November.
‘The Jackal’ will return to the ring for the first time since suffering a career-first defeat in his barn-burning rematch with Leo Santa Cruz in January.
The SSE Arena clash will also be his first outing since parting company with Barry McGuigan’s Cyclone Promotions, with Frampton having recently teamed up with advisers MTK Global as well as new promoter, Frank Warren.
🚨BREAKING🚨@RealCFrampton will face Mexican Horacio Garcia @SSEBelfastArena on November 18 as part of a huge double World Title bill! 💥 pic.twitter.com/h06lyC8Zbl
— Frank Warren (@frankwarren_tv) October 4, 2017
In spite of an aesthetically solid 33-3-1 record, complete with 24 stoppage victories, Garcia is a relatively low-profile opponent – as had been mooted by Frampton and team in the lead-up to this morning’s announcement.
The 27-year-old Guadalajara native has never been stopped, and so the task for Frampton as he bids to kick-start his career is straightforward at least in theory: become the first fighter to beat Garcia inside the distance, and look impressive in doing so.
Garcia has fought seven times in the States as well as once in Japan, but November will bring his first bout in Europe as well as the most formidable opponent of his career by a considerable margin.
The Mexican’s most notable fight to date resulted in a 10-round shut-out decision to highly-touted contender Joseph ‘Jojo’ Diaz [22-0, 13 KOs] last December.
Also featuring on the bill are Frampton’s fellow citymen Jamie Conlan and Paddy Barnes, with the former challenging Pinoy ‘Pretty Boy’ Jerwin Ancajas for the IBF World super-flyweight title – a first shot at world honours for the unbeaten Conlan, brother of Olympian Michael.
There’s also a feverishly anticipated Dublin derby between prospects Jono Carroll and Declan Geraghty, whose original throwdown at the 3Arena in 2014, on the undercard of Matthew Macklin’s bout with Jorge Sebastian Heiland, was one for the ages.
An all-South African clash between unbeaten WBO World bantamweight champion Zolani Tete – a prospective opponent for Belfast’s current world champion Ryan Burnett – and his compatriot, Siboniso Gonya, will also feature.
Tickets for the card go on sale at midday today (Wednesday).
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