JOSH Warrington insists nobody should be fooled by the pleasantries exchanged by himself and Carl Frampton on their recent media tour because he is fully prepared to break the pain barrier in order to defend his world title and become number one at Christmas.
The three-city whistle-stop promotional trip to highlight the IBF world featherweight title defence between holder Warrington and two-weight world champion Frampton was notable for the respectful rhetoric between the two fighters.
The build-up to Warrington's title winning encounter against then champion Lee Selby in May was a spiky affair as a result of a feud that had developed between the pair from when a fight was originally mooted.
And the 28-year-old Leeds man states that the niceties will not stand the test of time when he steps between the ropes with the Belfast man at the Manchester Arena on December 2.
"Listen, don't get it twisted, we are going in there to hurt each other and I am willing to die to defend my belt because it means that much to me," said the 27-0 champion, who went on to outline his intentions post-Frampton.
"I want to give it all to take it home with me again and that is what I'm going to do.
"This is why we have taken the fight so soon, because we beat Carl and I want to go on and unify the division.
"I intend to spend Christmas at the top of the rankings, the number one featherweight in the country. It will be a nice little Christmas present."
It has been confirmed that Mark Heffron will fight WBO Interim world title challenger Liam Williams in support of the main event, while Belfast’s blue chip featherweight prospect Michael Conlan (9-0) faces former commonwealth champion Jason Cunningham (24-5).
Also on the bill are world flyweight title challenger Paddy Barnes (5-1) and unbeaten light-heavyweight contender Steven Ward (9-0).
MEANWHILE, making his return to the ring on the ‘Back in Belfast’ card at Shorts Sports & Social Club tonight is Lenadoon cruiserweight Tommy McCarthy.
The 28-year-old, who hasn’t fought since November 17 last year, is now managed by Belfast promoter Mark Dunlop and aims to put a frustrating 12 months to bed when he faces England’s Kent Kauppinen in a six-rounder.
There are two other cruiserweight fights on the show, with Conor Cooke taking on Pawel Strykowski in his second pro fight, while Scotland’s David Jamieson facing Taha Mirhosseini.
Former British flyweight title challenger Luke Wilton, out of action from March 2017, also makes his comeback when he faces Georgi Georgiev in a bantamweight contest scheduled for six rounds.
Tonight also sees former combat sports star Cathy McAleer make her boxing debut when she laces up gloves against Teodora Hristova over four rounds.
The Belfast woman, who will box at flyweight, has won three world titles in different combat sports having reached the pinnacle of karate and kickboxing.
Boxing, though, is her first love and the John Breen-trained McAleer is hoping to begin her journey towards the top with victory over her Bulgarian opponent.
Also on tonight’s bill, super-lightweight Tony Nellins faces Radoslav Mitev while Alex Bazza is up against Kelvin McDonald.
