CARL FRAMPTON WILL now face Scotland’s Darren Traynor when he returns to the ring on BT Sport this Saturday.

The two-weight world champion, who is lined up for a tilt at a third world title at super featherweight against Jamel Herring towards the end of the year, is looking to retain his ring sharpness after his scheduled shot at the WBO belt held by Herring was pushed back due to Covid-19 restrictions.

The Jackal, 33, was initially booked to fight Vahram Vardanyan over 10 rounds in the fourth of Frank Warren’s summer series of post-lockdown promotions but the Armenian, who is based in Riga, encountered visa issues and was denied entry into the country.

The 33-year-old Traynor, known as ‘Trayn-Wreck’, has stepped in to fill the void and the 16-3 will view taking on a ring legend such as Frampton as an unexpected and golden opportunity.

A former Scottish champion, Traynor was undefeated in his first 11 fights before coming up against Ryan Walsh for the British featherweight title and was stopped in five rounds. He has previously challenged for the WBA International super featherweight title and was stopped by Frampton’s countryman, the big-punching James Tennyson.

Traynor has recorded seven KOs from his 16 wins.

Promoter Frank Warren explained: “The complex travel restrictions currently in place made it impossible to guarantee the arrival of Vardanyan, along with complications regarding his requirement for a visa when the agencies responsible for issue at his end are at not at the moment fully operational.

“It is disappointing for Carl and ourselves but we couldn’t allow any uncertainty to extend into fight week because Carl does not need any distractions ahead of what is an important fight for him.

“Carl is gunning for a third world title at a third different weight and cannot afford any mishaps on Saturday night. Darren Traynor is ready to step in and fully prepared to give Carl the competitive fight he needs before heading into WBO world championship battle against Jamel Herring, hopefully, later this year.”

Also featuring on the card is Michael Conlan taking on former world featherweight title challenger Sofiane Takoucht, Archie Sharp defending his WBO European super featherweight title against Jeff Ofori and Troy Williamson defending his IBF European super welterweight title. Top prospects Dennis McCann (bantam) and Paddy Donovan (welter) have their seventh and fourth professional fights respectively.

Press release issued by Queensberry Promotions.

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