Jamel Herring fights for the first time since his loss to Shakur Stevenson on Saturday, May 21, on ESPN against undefeated Jamaine Ortiz.
The southpaw Marine, Jamel Herring, is attempting to climb back up the ladder since losing his WBO super featherweight title to Shakur Stevenson in 2021 with an ever-optimistic point of view.
Herring (23-3, 11 KOs) battles undefeated Jamaine Ortiz (15-0-1, 8 KOs) on ESPN on Saturday, May 21. It marks his first boxing bout at lightweight since 2017, but that’s not the only thing that has changed for Herring.
When Herring steps into the ring at Resorts World Las Vegas, he will be doing it without longtime trainer Brian ‘Bomac’ Mcintyre.
Herring learned of the split less than two months ago, which Mcintyre confirmed to Boxingscene.com.
Herring, ever the gentleman, shared nothing but positive comments regarding Mcintyre and his former team after news of their split was public knowledge. Strangely, Herring had a feeling that something was bothering Mcintyre before their business relationship ended.
“It’s funny because I knew something like, I knew something was wrong,” Herring told FanSided. “Things were just off after my last fight, and the communication, it just wasn’t it wasn’t the same. It wasn’t the same.”
According to Herring, he reached out to Mcintyre when he learned of his latest fight date with Ortiz. Mcintyre didn’t respond immediately but eventually gave the sense that things were fine.
Still, plans for the next camp weren’t set. Then, Mcintyre told Herring that he thought it was best that they part ways.
Herring is universally known as one of boxing’s nice guys. It’s hard to imagine anyone having a bone to pick with him, but Mcintyre told Boxingscene.com that “stuff was going behind my back that I didn’t approve of.”
Herring thinks he knows the source of Mcintyre’s criticism.
Jamel Herring vs. Jamaine Ortiz takes place on Saturday, May 21, on ESPN at 8 p.m. ET
“He’s always been my manager,” Herring said. “But I had, you know, I had brought in MTK, you know, to help out, to help me get the Frampton fight but as my advisors. And I think he kind of felt like, you know, he was kind of pushed to the side and, which I can understand, but I always kept him in the loop of everything going on, because again, he’s my manager.”
Herring sought out now-defunct MTK Global on an advisory role to secure the Carl Frampton bout, which Herring won by round 6 TKO. He also stated that they helped negotiate his fight with Stevenson.
MTK ceased operations after founder and alleged organized crime boss Daniel Kinahan was stationed by the U.S. government. Herring is one of the few former MTK clients to mention them by name since their fall, but they seem to be the origin of the Mcintyre’s ire towards Herring.
Herring said that he has talked to Mcintyre since, and there’s no hard feeling personally between the two.
Now, veteran boxing trainer Manny Robles is in Herring’s corner. Robles worked with Herring when he qualified for the 2012 Olympic games.
Robles popped into Herring’s head when he sought help for a boxer he manages.
“And luckily, you know, for me, it’s funny because I manage a fighter, Mikiah Kreps, who just won just this past weekend,” Herring said. “And I actually taken her to L.A. to meet Manny Robles for her to work with him. And Manny had basically said, ‘Hey, man, whenever you want to come down as well, you know, my doors always open to you.'”
That comment stuck in his mind after moving on from Mcintyre.
Herring seems pleased with his new team and moving onto the lightweight division, but he’s also busy with the business of boxing. In addition to Kreps, Herring manages a handful of fighters, including Mykell Gamble and Matthew Rodriguez.
Herring is nowhere near ready to stop boxing, but he enjoys mentoring and helping other fighters.
“For me, definitely I can see myself doing it like getting more involved because right now I’m still active fighter myself, but you know, I honestly haven’t made a single penny off of it,” Herring said. “Because I know what it is when you start out as a young fighter. You’re not really getting anything. But me, it’s more of like right now I look at it with these kids as more of a mentor, as a mentor role.”
Managing fighters might be a more significant part of Herring’s plans in the future, but he’s still determined to reach the top again. Even though he’s 36 years old, Herring believes he has the goods to make another title run.
“If we continue going the route that I’m going now with Manny Robles and corresponding success, I could see myself getting back into the bigger fights and you know, and getting, you know, another world title around my waist whether it’s at, you know, 135 or 130.”