Frampton: I’ll put on a real show for Canelo!
CARL Frampton admits he has been given an added incentive to put on a show on Saturday after it was revealed boxing superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez will be ringside for his fight with Horacio Garcia.
Frampton returns to the ring this weekend for the first time since January when he faces Garcia at the SSE Arena in Belfast.
It is his first fight since relocating to Manchester in the summer and linking up with trainer Jamie Moore at the VIP Gym in Astley.
Garcia is part of the same stable as Canelo, with the pound-forpound star making the trip to Belfast to cheer on his teammate.
Frampton insists the special guest won’t faze him though, and expects it to just provide more excitement to what he hopes will be a successful night.
“It’s great that Canelo will be ringside – it will add even more of a buzz to what’s already one of Belfast’s biggest-ever fight bills,” said Frampton.
“As much as I respect Canelo, he won’t have much to cheer about. Garcia is a good fighter and I’m not taking him lightly, but I have to beat him and I won’t be distracted from the task at hand.
“If anything, this might put a bit of pressure on Garcia since he has Mexico’s most famous boxer and one of the sport’s biggest superstars is there to support him.
“It will surely weigh on his mind that he doesn’t want to get a beating in front of Canelo, but I plan on putting on a show for the Belfast public.
“Garcia might have one big name cheering him on, but I have a whole city behind me. My fans have waited a long time for me to come back for a homecoming fight and I don’t want to disappoint them after all the support they’ve given me.”
Frampton’s bout with Garcia isn’t the only big fight on the bill, as Jamie Conlan will challenge Jerwin Ancajas for the IBF super-flyweight belt, and Conlan is looking forward to competing in front of Canelo.
“I was a bit shocked when I heard Canelo will be there – it’s really exciting. I’ll have to wear the sombrero into the ring now!” said Conlan, who is dubbed as the Mexican.
“I’m fully focused on my job, though. I won’t be getting into another war for the sake of it, but I still want the fans to be entertained and I’m ready for a tough fight.”
Zolani Tete is also in action on the card, as he defends his WBO bantamweight title against Siboniso Gonya. The likes of Paddy Barnes, Jono Carroll, Tommy McCarthy, Marco McCullough and Steven Ward are on the bill too.