Sport

Everybody will want to be a Carl Frampton now - Hugh Russell

Carl Frampton lands a blow on Leo Santa Cruz during Saturday night's WBA Super World Featherweight Championship fight at the Barclays Center in New York&nbsp;<br />Picture by AP
Carl Frampton lands a blow on Leo Santa Cruz during Saturday night's WBA Super World Featherweight Championship fight at the Barclays Center in New York 
Picture by AP
Carl Frampton lands a blow on Leo Santa Cruz during Saturday night's WBA Super World Featherweight Championship fight at the Barclays Center in New York 
Picture by AP

CARL FRAMPTON was brilliant on Saturday night.

I think we’re seeing him fighting where he should have been fighting in his last couple of fights. His weight is totally right now and it’ll be a lot easier for him to fight at nine stone than it ever was to fight at eight stone 10 pounds.

In Santa Cruz he was fighting probably the best featherweight in the world at the moment - a three-time world champion at three different weights. The bookies usually don’t get it far wrong and they were making Santa Cruz favourite by a good bit. So to go out to America and beat him - it is probably one of the biggest wins from an Irish fighter ever. The WBA is recognised throughout boxing as probably the pinnacle of all the bodies. There are good champions in all the other divisions, but the WBA is a big belt to win.

The significance for him personally is that he’s now right up there with all the big names in boxing. You can mention his name alongside the great fighters - Morales, Barrera and all these guys. He’s up there with all these people now and he’s really showing that he’s going to be as good as any of them.

He’s on top of the mountain - everybody else in the world now is going to be looking to get at Carl Frampton. He’s going to be the big draw. He’s going to be the money man. Anybody who wants big fights will have to fight him because he holds the main title. He’s exciting to watch. You look at some of the other champions at the other weights and they don’t draw a crowd but Frampton is box office. The way that he boxes, the way that he fights - he’s a good entertainer.

He’s a perfect example for what you would want to be at the pinnacle of boxing. He’s a good kid, he’s exceptionally hard working. You don’t get anything easy in sport nowadays at that level - you have to work very hard at it and he does. You just have to look at him - he looks fit, he’s clean, he’s just good. I have never heard anybody speak badly about him.

Watch footage from the post-fight press conference in New York:

He’s from Tiger’s Bay and he has never forgotton his roots - he’s very proud of where he comes from and I think the people around Tiger’s Bay are very proud of him. They were showcasing him in front of an American audience - he’s already been showcased in Europe on Sky TV and stuff like that but there over in New York - you are talking about HBO, Coast-to-Coast and he’s the style of fighter that the Yanks like to see. He has the Irish connection too so they will tap into that - it’s massive, it really is massive what’s out in front of him.

To be truthful, I think he’s a lot happier now at nine stone than what he has been for a long, long time and even listening to the interviews that he’s given, I can see him… I wouldn’t be surprised if he stayed at nine stone, won a couple of titles and then if he feels strong enough to move up to super featherweight.

We could see this kid going through three or four divisions before he’s finished because he is that good. I am delighted for him - I have watched him since he was a kid and his whole attitude in boxing has never changed from the first day until this present day. The thing about it is - how many kids will he inspire now in Northern Ireland through boxing? It will be unbelievable.

I guarantee you that all the boxing clubs around Belfast - Tiger’s Bay and the Falls Road - everywhere like that there - will be bunged for the next couple of weeks. Everybody will want to be a Carl Frampton.