BELFAST BOXER CARL Frampton has decided to halve his sparring training in order to lessen the risks of health problems in the future.
The 30-year-old, who is a former two-weight world champion, is scheduled to fight Mexico’s Horacio Garcia in front of hometown fans on 18 November.
Frampton recently parted company with Barry McGuigan’s Cyclone Promotions to join up with promoter Frank Warren, Matthew Macklin’s MTK Global as advisors and trainer Jamie Moore.
And in an interview with BBC Sport, the man nicknamed The Jackal says he is cutting sparring sessions from 220 to 100 in the hope of avoiding brain damage in later life.
“I’ve got two kids and a missus,” Frampton said. ”I don’t want problems after boxing. You need to be careful.
“You have heavy gloves and a head-guard on but if you talk to any other boxer about the amount of rounds they spar there is nobody getting close. Most do maybe 100 or 120 for a 12-round fight and I was doing 220. It was a lot.
You’re just taking punishment every day, getting hit all the time. That’s something we’re going to cut back on. I’ll train hard but the sparring will be cut in half.”
Frampton hasn’t fought since losing his WBA super featherweight title to Leo Santa Cruz back in January as his bout with Andrew Gutierrez was cancelled after the Mexican picked up injuries during a freak accident in the shower.
His intention is to hang up his gloves in two years, but the main focus now is reclaiming his title.
“I’m just taking one fight at a time now and seeing how I go,” Frampton added. “I’m thinking about getting my world title back and potentially winning a world title in the next division up as well.
“That retirement plan I had, getting out by 32, may still be the case even though at the minute it’s in the back of my mind. It’s important to get out at the right time.”
Read the full BBC Sport interview here
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