Horacio García

In November 2017, Garcia faced former two-weight world champion Carl Frampton. Garcia was considered by many as an easy stepping stone for Frampton who fought Garcia in a billed 'comeback' bout after suffering his first defeat in January 2017 to Léo Santa Cruz. However, Garcia took Frampton to the 10th round in a close contest. Garcia ultimately lost on points in a unanimous decision.[4] Frampton said of the fight "It was my fault, I picked Garcia - nobody else" in response to Garcia's head-turning performance.[5]

In June 2018, García beat journeyman Orlando Garcia Guerrero by corner-stoppage. In September of the same year, he faced American prospect Isaac Zarate, losing via split decision at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas; a fight promoted by Oscar De La Hoya.[6]

At the official press conference of the promotional announcement, it was announced that Carl Frampton would fight an unnamed opponent on 18 November 2017 in Belfast at the SSE Arena. According to promoter Frank Warren, this would pave the way for a world title fight at Windsor Park in May/June 2018.[7] On 4 October, it was confirmed that Frampton would fight Mexican boxer Horacio García in a 10-round bout. Speaking about the fight, Frampton said, “I asked for a ten-round fight. I would have been happy to be doing twelve rounds but speaking to my team after the bad year I’ve had and the long layoff they thought it was only fair to come back with a ten rounder before we target the big names.”[8] This would mark Frampton's first fight in Belfast since February 2015, when he made his first defence of the IBF super-bantamweight title.[9]

The three judges' scored the fight 98-93, 97-93 and 98-93. Frampton started off strong however ring rust became an issue. From round 4, García repeatedly trapped Frampton against the ropes and worked him over with body shots. In round 7, García dropped Frampton with a left hook. Referee Victor Loughlin, who was stood behind Frampton when the punch landed, started to count. From Loughlin's point of view, it was a punch that dropped Frampton. Replays showed that it could have been ruled a legitimate slip. Frampton admitted he let himself get into a battle. He said, "I thought it was a good fight and everyone would have enjoyed that more than me. I was boxing lovely at the start then I let him drag me into a fight. I wanted it to be a hard fight, that has got the rust off, the cobwebs have gone and I want one of the big boys. I will let the team decide who I fight next."[10]