The 8,500 fans who are expected inside Belfast’s Odyssey Arena on Saturday night will stand united for one man when local fighter Carl Frampton takes on Jeremy Parodi in an IBF world-title eliminator.
If Frampton disposes of Parodi, which many anticipate he will, the Northern Irishman will earn a shot at the IBF junior featherweight title, but his focus for this weekend is on his relatively unknown French opponent.
Friday’s weigh-in at the Europa Hotel in Belfast had no major surprises, as both fighters hit their targets ahead of the big night, which is being billed as “Frampton Comes Alive.”
With some giants of Irish sport like golf’s Darren Clarke and rugby’s Stephen Ferris expected to attend and well wishes arriving in from Rory McIlroy in Korea, Frampton will be hoping to make an impression during his time in the limelight.
The super bantamweight boxer holds a 16-0 record. Will he make it 17? Here’s what we think.
Preview
Frampton’s opponent is a bit of an unknown quantity among boxing fans. In fact, Frampton admitted this week that his closest look at Friday’s opponent came via a television game show, according to Martin Domin in the Daily Mail.
With little footage to view, the stats reveal some of Parodi's strengths and weaknesses.
Despite being a heavy underdog, he enters the fight with a lot more ring time behind him than Frampton. The Frenchman, who has never fought outside his own country, has boxed 247 rounds in 37 fights, compared with Frampton’s 79 in 16.
According to BoxStat, Parodi has lost just once in his 37 professional bouts—a majority-decision defeat to Arsen Martirosyan in May 2010—but he has never been knocked out. This could say more about his quality of competition than his ability to take a punch, but Frampton will need to be patient if Parodi does possess the will to stay standing after some big shots.
While the 26-year-old has yet to taste the canvas in defeat, he is unlikely to pose much of an attacking threat to the Northern Irishman. His 23.7 percent knockout rate suggests he is more of a tactical boxer than one who will dominate with sheer force, so this should give Frampton the freedom to dictate the fight.
Frampton brings with him a more powerful all-around style. A 64.7 percent knockout rate, per BoxStat, demonstrates the easy power that oozes from his gloves, and his emphatic performance against Kiko Martinez—his most powerful opponent to date—at the beginning of the year went some way to quashing any doubts about his prospects.
Prediction: Frampton via KO in the sixth round
As Frampton explains to Box Nation in the video below, Parodi has never fought anyone with world-class talent. With a partisan crowd cheering him on, it is difficult to see anything but a win for the home boxer.
The Irishman’s European title may be on the line, but you get the sense that this fight is a stepping stone for Barry McGuigan’s undefeated prodigy.
A rematch with Martinez and a shot at the IBF junior featherweight title await Frampton if he is victorious on Saturday night. Martinez, of course, has to get past Jeffrey Mathebula first, but if he does, Frampton will be confident of achieving a coveted world crown after annihilating the titleholder in their previous contest.
But first up is Parodi. Just one spot separates the pair in the world rankings, but prepare for a gulf in class come fight time.
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