Frampton ruled out of title defence

Carl Frampton has been forced to pull out of Saturday's super-bantamweight clash with Everth Briceno in London after suffering a perforated ear drum during a sparring session.

The reigning European champion, who was due to defend his IBF Intercontinental title against the Nicaraguan, was stood down by the British Boxing Board of Control.

Saturday's fight at the Wembley Arena was due to be Frampton's first outing since claiming the European belt with a knockout victory over Kiko Martinez and his first fight since teaming up with promoter Frank Warren.

“We are all terribly disappointed that Carl has been ruled out by the Board due to a small perforation in left ear drum and he can’t go through with the fight this Saturday,” explained Barry McGuigan, part of Frampton’s management team. “ He’s trained exceptionally hard and was looking forward to boxing at the famous old Wembley Stadium and making his BoxNation debut.

“He has just got to let the ear heal completely and then we will resume training again. This is the first time that Carl has had to be sidelined for a major fight and he is really disappointed for his fans as they mean so much to him.”