Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
It’s not the first time Carl Frampton has had a fight cancelled under bizarre circumstances.
Having just signed a promotional contract with Top Rank Boxing, former world featherweight champion Carl Frampton (26-2, 15 KOs) was hoping to win his tune-up match vs. Emmanuel Dominguez (26-8-2, 18 KOs) and land himself a big money title bout later in the year. Unfortunately, he won’t be competing on Saturday after an awful case of “wrong place, wrong time.”
First reported by John Evans, Frampton was injured when an object fell on his hand at a Philadelphia hotel, breaking multiple bones in his hand. According to Frampton himself, it was a large concrete ornament. Seriously.
“A large ornament, in the hotel lobby, was knocked over accidentally and hit me on the left hand, fracturing the 5th metacarpal,” Frampton said in a statement on Twitter. “I’m extremely disappointed for the travelling support and for myself and my team. I’ve put everything into this camp, I’ve been away from my amazing wife and kids for most of it and it all feels like a waste.
— Carl Frampton MBE (@RealCFrampton) August 5, 2019
That’s about as unlucky as it gets.
This isn’t the first time a Frampton fight has been called off at the last minute due to wacky circumstances, although the previous time it was his opponent who was the victim of misfortune. Two years ago, a main event against Andres Gutierrez was KO’d when Gutierrez KO’d himself in a bathtub fall after the weigh-ins. That entire card was cancelled, whereas this Saturday’s in Philadelphia will proceed with Jason Sosa vs. Haskell Lydell Rhodes as the new main event.
Frampton has not fought since losing to IBF champion Josh Warrington last December, in what was one of the best fights in 2018. “The Jackal” has notably beaten Leo Santa Cruz and Nonito Donaire in his career.
For those who wanted to go to the event, Top Rank confirmed in a press release that ticket refunds will be valid until Wednesday, Aug. 7. .