“I want to be a legend. Honestly, that’s what I want to be, a legend in Irish sport.”
Carl Frampton isn’t happy to be a come-and-go world champion.
“The Jackal” puts his IBF Super-Bantamweight world title on the line in Belfast this Saturday night against American Chris Avalos, and the champ is looking to his manager and mentor Barry McGuigan for inspiration.
McGuigan win the world featherweight title in 1985 at Loftus Road, and Frampton says he wants to be remembered in the same circles as his countryman.
“It’s coming up to thirty years since Barry McGuigan’s World Title win over Eusebio Pedroza at Loftus Road and people are still talking about it. I want to be like that thirty years from now, with people talking about my fights with Kiko Martinez and Chris Avalos in the pubs all over Ireland.
“That’s what I intend to do. I want to create a legacy, get big fights and bring them back to Belfast,” he said, in an interview with UTV’s Ger Gilroy, which is set to be aired tomorrow night.
Frampton will defend the title in his home town of Belfast this Saturday, and Frampton promises it’s going to be a night to remember for the sell-out crowd at the Odyssey Arena.
“There’s always pressure on me but I love boxing in Belfast. I’d be telling a lie if I said I didn’t want to go to the States a couple of times in my career. Belfast is my home, it’s the city I love and I’m always promoting it.
“I don’t think there’s a better atmosphere atmosphere in British or Irish sport than a fight night in the Odyssey. The roof just lifts off, it’s incredible, and I think this fight with Avalos is going to surpass anything there was before. There’s obviously pressure with me boxing at home but with pressure I think I perform better, so bring it on.”
Frampton and his manager Barry McGuigan will be speaking to Gilroy tomorrow night on the Ireland Live program on UTV Ireland from 10pm on Friday night, while a fly-on-the-wall documentary, “Carl Frampton: Days of the Jackal”, will also air from 11pm.
The station will also be showing the fight live on Saturday night from 10.50pm.
