Getting under Frampton’s skin was last thing Jackson wanted to do

Luke Jackson was keen not to get under the skin of Carl Frampton ahead of there Windsor Park clash his promoter has revealed.

The Australian, who provided opposition for ‘The Jackal’s’ dream Stadium night, had it seemed been rather vocal and even antagonistic in the build up to the massive August 18 event.

The former Olympian had questioned one of Ireland’s greatest ever punchers weight and wondered out loud as to whether or not the former two weight world champion’s best years where behind him.

Those and other comments played a massive role in the build up to a fight Frampton eventually won via an eight round stoppage. From the outside looking in it looked a deliberate ‘get under the skin’ tactic and one that eventually backfired.

However, Jackson’s promoter Wilcox claims that certainly wasn’t the case. The Australian and essential member of Team Jackson claims the Tasmanian’s comments were exaggerated by the press, a claim the fighter himself had made in the build up.

In fact Wilcox told Irish-boxing.com that Jackson had nothing but respect for the massive Belfast draw and considering the occasion was mindful not to add any fuel to an already fired up Frampton ahead of the bout.

“There wasn’t any plan to get under Carl’s skin or upset him. Luke made a couple of factual comments in the pre-fight announcement that may have been exaggerated or taken out of context somewhat. But I can assure you that there is nothing but respect for Carl from Luke and out whole team. In fact in the lead in you’ll not find anything negative from Luke in the lead-in. We were very conscious not to fuel-the-fire and motivate Carl further.”