CARL SPIES A VICTORY

Mystery sparring partner the key

® from STEVE BRENNER in New York

CARL FRAMPTON is using a spy in his bid to make history.

Frampton is tuning up for the biggest fight of his career tomorrow night with a mystery sparring partner who has the inside track on WBA featherweight champion Leo Santa Cruz. ‘The Jackal’ has been having dust-ups with a man who has been in the unbeaten Mexican’s last five training camps. And manager Barry McGuigan reckons his plan has worked a treat as the Belfast warrior tries to become Northern Ireland’s first twoweight world champion. “We have been working very hard and have been using a guy who was in with Santa Cruz for five different camps,” said McGuigan. “This kid is brilliant. He is a 130lb boxer, top five in Europe, fantastic talent and our preparation has been unbelievable. “He’s been with Santa Cruz for five camps so yeah, we know about him.” Frampton has loved moving up from superbantamweight instead of worrying about shedding the pounds in time for fight night. His last American outing almost ended in disaster in El Paso last year when Alejandro Gonzalez Jr put him down twice before he rallied to maintain his unbeaten record. Winning the featherweight title McGuigan once held strikes a chord with Frampton. But McGuigan said: “We don’t go into the sentimentality stuff – that’s all rubbish. He trains like a motherf ***** , gets in great shape and then does the business. “We took our eye off the ball in the past. El Paso could have been a disaster if Carl wasn’t the fighter he is.” ¬Ê