McGuigan predicts Frampton will secure ‘legend’ status on July 30

His legacy is already secured in Ireland. Carl Frampton will go down as one of the greatest we produced. Our first ever unified World champion, a man that transcended the sport on the Island and particularly in Belfast and kept boxing alive over a barren spell.

However, with victory over Leo Santa Cruz will see him become a legend of the sport claims coach Shane McGuigan.

The fighter, who won world IBF and WBA world titles at super bantamweight moves up to featherweight to challenge for the WBA featherweight crown. In Santa Cruz he faces a high profile three weight World champ and if he emerges victorious Frampton’s stock will have risen significantly Stateside. Indeed so much so that McGuigan suggests the July 30 New York bout could be a legacy clash.

“He is very difficult to fight against but I really believe this is the fight that Carl Frampton proves himself as a legend in the sport,” said the young coach.

“Every fighter needs that defining fight and this could be his.”

The undefeated Belfast man’s last bout was high profile if not high octane. Frampton out pointed verbal sparring partner for five years Scott Quigg on a massive Pay per View show, but the fight never really lived up to the build up.

However, McGuigan, who more often than not predicts Frampton events with precision, is confident that the Santa Cruz Showtime Broadcast bout will be an exciting one in which his charge will be at his most exciting.

“I think this is going to be the fight that the Scott Quigg wasn’t. Santa Cruz is a lot braver than Quigg. Santa Cruz is a volume puncher and throws his shots in bunches. And he is not afraid to take two or three shots to get his get his own off.

“This is going to be the most exciting fight of his career and it will be best he has ever looked.

“He has just started sparring and he looked fantastic. I think he is back enjoying his boxing. His focus now is not on just making weight. He is back in love with boxing.”