Sport

Carl Frampton putting it all on the line in world title showdown with Josh Warrington

Carl Frampton and Josh Warrington face off at yesterday's press conference in Manchester. Picture by PA
Carl Frampton and Josh Warrington face off at yesterday's press conference in Manchester. Picture by PA Carl Frampton and Josh Warrington face off at yesterday's press conference in Manchester. Picture by PA

CARL Frampton wants to be remembered as the greatest Irish fighter of all time and he intends to his fourth world title with a commanding victory over champion Josh Warrington in Saturday night’s IBF featherweight showdown.

Looked relaxed almost to the point of boredom at times during yesterday’s press conference, Frampton admitted his mind was on which steakhouse he’d visit after tomorrow’s weigh-in. But he pulled no punches when he stressed how important winning at Manchester Arena is to him.

“This is security for my family,” he said.

“There’s so much on the line here. If I was in against my best mate I’d want to knock him out.”

His opponent Warrington traveled across the Peninne’s for yesterday’s press conference with a perfect 27-0 record and sat proudly behind the red IBF world title belt he won after beating Lee Selby in May a few feet from ‘the Jackal’.

He intends to inflict a career-threatening defeat on Frampton and says the Belfast man will need his “pipe and slippers” after losing on Saturday night. But Frampton countered matter-of-factly by predicting that the Leeds fighter won’t be able to live with his power and skill.

“His attitude is his main strength,” said Frampton.

“His workrate is good and a lot is made out of it but he hasn’t got a Leo Santa Cruz workrate.

“I think he has a good, strong mental attitude but he hasn’t been in against guys who are as good as me so lets see how mentally strong he is in this fight, I think we’ll find out.”

Against Selby, Warrington was able to pick his moments to attack and he smothered the ‘Welsh Mayweather’ with regular barrages off both hands that swayed the fight his way. That won’t happen on Saturday, says Frampton.

“He may not respect my punching power but I can punch and I’ll get his respect,” he said.

“I’ve trained for him to come out of the blocks right from the start and when he’s starting to get nailed hard his gameplan might change.”

Frampton rates Warrington’s scalp as “big but not the biggest” of his career and he rubbished suggestions from the Warrington camp that he is having issues making the weight for Saturday night.

“They can think that if they want,” he said.

“I think he’s having the same problems (at featherweight) that I was having at super-bantam when I was struggling to make the weight and I know what it feels like when you get hit with a shot when you have to be so lean to be at the limit. It’s hard and they hurt, especially bodyshots.

“I don’t say he’s having problems but the fact that he has to be so lean… Look at his face three weeks’ out from a fight, he’s still pretty gaunt. I don’t have the same issues as him and that’s why I believe I’m better now as a featherweight than I was as a super-bantam.”

Warrington tapped out the sign of the cross on his chest yesterday and thanked “the Sky gods” for changing Leeds United’s game against Aston Villa from Saturday to Sunday. That will allow thousands of Yorkshiremen to travel to the Manchester Arena to cheer him on but Frampton, who beat Scott Quigg in the 21,000-capacity arena in 2017, says there’ll be one set of fans singing at the end – his.

“The crowd adds something to your game but really it’s two men in there fighting,” he said.

“It’s small margins and if the crowd is adding two or three per cent to your performance you’ll take it. But it’s going to be pretty split this time, Josh’s big fights have always been in Leeds, he’s never been involved in an atmosphere where it’s split - I have against Santa Cruz and I’ve been able to deal with that.

“When I start getting on top in this fight there’ll be one set of fans singing.”