Carl Frampton says he has cut back on sparring to try and avoid long term health issues, including brain damage, in the future.
The Belfast boxer is gearing up for a homecoming fight against Horacio Garcia next month.
The former two-weight world champion has reduced his in ring sessions over health concerns.
“I've got two kids and a missus. I don't want problems after boxing. You need to be careful," he said in an interview with the BBC.
“You have heavy gloves and a head-guard on but if you talk to any other boxer about the amount of rounds they spar there is nobody getting close.
“Most do maybe 100 or 120 for a 12-round fight and I was doing 220. It was a lot.
“You're just taking punishment every day, getting hit all the time. That's something we're going to cut back on. I'll train hard but the sparring will be cut in half.”
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