Despite turning 37 this coming October, Jamel Herring isn’t done quite yet. Dan Rafael reports that the former super featherweight champ will return to the lightweight division on May 21st as the co-feature for Janibek Alimkhanuly vs. Danny Dignum in Las Vegas.
TBA currently has the assignment.
Herring (23-3, 11 KO) fights for the first time since losing his WBO title to Shakur Stevenson last October and subsequently parting with longtime trainer Brian “BoMac” McIntyre. It will also be his first proper fight at 135 since a 2017 decision loss to Ladarius Miller, which was his second defeat in three appearances and the catalyst for his career-reigniting run at 130.
It’s been a wild couple of years for “Semper Fi.” He looked shaky in a long-delayed DQ win over Jonathan Oquendo, turned in one of his finest performances to date in his subsequent dismantling of Carl Frampton, then had little to offer against Stevenson. His time to make another title run is short, but the road may not be super long; while he won’t get immediate mandatory status like he would have if he’d vacated while champion, the WBO can be very generous when slotting former champs into the rankings, as seen when they gave Teofimo Lopez the #2 spot at 140.
Guess we’ll have to wait and see.