FORMER two-weight world champion Carl Frampton will fight Mexico’s Andres Gutierrez at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast on July 29.
The Northern Irishman confirmed the news at a press conference earlier today, with details of a UK broadcaster set to be revealed within the next fortnight.
Frampton has not fought since his thrilling January loss to Leo Santa Cruz in January, after which he insisted his next fight would be in Belfast. When Santa Cruz, who Carl defeated last year, ruled himself out of a trilogy fight ‘The Jackal’ turned his attention to Wales’ IBF champion Lee Selby.
Selby is tied up by mandatory obligations, and so 23-year-old Gutierrez was called upon, mainly for his solid WBC ranking. Frampton remains the No 1 challenger to current champion Gary Russell Jnr.
Gutierrez, known as ‘The Jaguar’, was handed his first professional loss last year when former Santa Cruz victim Christian Mijares beat him on a majority decision, with Gutierrez grossly missing weight for the contest.
He last fought in October, when he stopped Wallington Orobio in six rounds. This will be the first time he has fought outside of Mexico or America.
Frampton’s promoters, Cyclone, have ensured there will be a stellar undercard in support of Carl’s next fight.
The Ulsterman had, surprisingly, been ranked by the WBA at super-featherweight, sparking speculation that he was eyeing a move north in a bid to become Ireland’s first ever three-weight world champion. While he is certainly interested in doing so, for now Frampton has business to attend to at 126lbs.
