Frampton: This has been my dream since I was a kid

The eagerly anticipated rematch between IBF World Super Bantamweight champion  Kiko Martínez and Belfast’s sporting icon Carl ‘The Jackal’ Frampton is now  just two days away. ‘TITANIC SHOWDOWN’ will take place at a purpose built  outdoor arena in Belfast’s historic Titanic Quarter and is undoubtedly the biggest  boxing event that Northern Ireland has ever seen.

Martínez vs Frampton 2, ‘TITANIC SHOWDOWN’ is a truly global affair as the massive Belfast bill will be  broadcast live across the World in countries including China, Russia, Brazil, France, Spain and the USA amongst many others.

Belfast’s favourite boxing star Carl Frampton is now within touching distance of  realising a lifelong dream as he bids to lift the World title on Saturday and in doing so embedding himself in his home city’s sporting folklore. The Tiger’s Bay native has captured the imagination of the boxing mad Belfast public who will turn out in their thousands on Saturday evening to cheer on their hero.

The unique Titanic Quarter outdoor venue, set on the historic Titanic Slipways where the World famous ship was launched over a century ago, is a near sell-out, a mightily impressive feat by the twenty-seven year old Frampton given the temporary structure’s sixteen thousand capacity.

“This has been my motivation since I got into competitive boxing as a kid. To fight  for a World title at home in front of the best fans in the World is unbelievable. I can’t  wait for Saturday night. Kiko Martínez is a very good fighter but I am better, I beat him before and I will beat him again. He’s very confident and is a respected World champion but on Saturday night I will do what I have trained so hard for, I will win the World title. He says he has learnt from the first fight but so have I. I’m a much better fighter than I was the first time we boxed and I will prove that on Saturday night,” stated a confident Frampton.

Big punching Frampton has been in impressive form of late, stopping the durable Frenchman Jeremy Parodi in six one-sided rounds at the Odyssey Arena last  October. Last time out ‘The Jackal’ sent out an ominous message to all of the Super Bantamweights in the World as he decimated Mexico’s former two-weight World champion Hugo Cazares in April of this year.

Of course both of these impressive victories followed last February’s epic European title battle featuring both of Saturday’s combatants. That first bout, an edge of the seat encounter between Frampton and Martínez, ended in the ninth round when Finnish referee Anssi  Perajoki mercifully stopped the Spaniard on his feet after ‘La Sensación’ attempted to recover from a brutal knockdown inflicted by the devastating right-hand of Frampton.

The well-versed Belfast boxing public understand that Saturday’s rematch represents a whole new challenge for their Super Bantamweight superstar as the now World champion Martínez has himself seemingly improved since the pair’s enthralling first encounter.

Frampton must impose his impressive skillset on a highly motivated champion who has come to Belfast hell-bent on taking his revenge on his talented  challenger. Martínez has retained a sense of self-assured calm throughout this week’s hectic big fight media schedule but the Spanish champion’s wild side seems as though it could appear at any given moment, making the build up to this World title fight all the more intriguing.