A famous Irish fighter once said, “When one of us goes to war, we all go to war.”
For such a tiny island, Ireland never fails to punch above its weight when it comes to supporting one of their own and that trend seems to apply to all fighters, regardless of which side of the border they’re from.
Northern Ireland’s Carl Frampton expected to be entering enemy territory this weekend, when he takes on Josh Warrington for the IBF featherweight title in Manchester.
But Warrington, who hails from Leeds, received a significantly more hostile reception when the pair took to the scales to weigh in for Saturday’s clash.
Boos rang out around Manchester Central when the defending champion stripped off and weighed in at 8st 13lbs 9oz while Frampton was met with a raucous reaction and chants of his nickname.
‘The Jackal’ tipped the scales at 8st 13lbs 14oz and both fighters looked in the shape of their lives when they exchanged some final words before fight night.
Both fighters make weight and #WarringtonFrampton is official 👊
This is going to be an absolute classic. Bring it on 🥊 pic.twitter.com/9jw9nhb2A4
— Boxing on TNT Sports (@boxingontnt) December 21, 2018
A respectful handshake followed and considering more Frampton fans are likely to travel over from Belfast on fight day, the Manchester Arena promises to be a noisy place come the opening bell.
“To be honest, with where we are, I know a lot of people from Belfast are coming over tomorrow so close to Christmas but I expected the crowd to be more pro-Josh Warrington today,” Frampton admitted.
“This is unreal. The support I have is amazing. I’m the best supported fighter on the planet.
“The amount of people I bring to Las Vegas or New York… These are the most passionate fans in the world and they’re going to let themselves be heard on Saturday night.”
