Northern Ireland’s Carl “The Jackal” Frampton (20-0, 14 KOs) is undefeated and nearly unmarked in 20 professional bouts. He makes his United States debut against the once-beaten Mexican Alejandro Gonzalez Jr. (25-1-2, 15 KOs) this Saturday, July 18, 2015 at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas.
The fight falls under the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) banner and will be broadcast by industry-giant CBS with the action kicking off at 4 p.m. ET. The defending IBF super bantamweight champion knows this is a big opportunity for him.
“This is giving me the chance for a lot of exposure on terrestrial television,” Frampton, 28, said on a recent media conference call. “It’s a big deal.”
Big deals and big business were what Frampton and manager Barry McGuigan had in mind two months ago when they signed on to do business with Al Haymon, the most powerful man in boxing.
“The exposure that we can get with Al Haymon is absolutely massive,” said Frampton, who fights professionally for the first time outside of the United Kingdom Saturday. “If you want to do anything in America… Haymon is the man to link up with. And we’ve done that.”
The move has opened up discussion for fascinating matchups down the road.
When asked about fighting marquee names like three-weight world champion Abner Mares, fellow 122-pound titlist Leo Santa Cruz, featherweight champion Gary Russell Jr. and blood-rival Scott Quigg, The Jackal made his intentions clear: “I would like to fight them all.”
Guillermo Rigondeaux, the WBA Super bantamweight champion, was another fighter whose name was bound to come up.
With rumors circling that the Olympic Gold Medalist could be the newest addition to Haymon’s stable, Frampton liked the chances of meeting him in the ring.
“I think the Rigondeaux fight is a great possibility,” said Frampton, the first Northern Irishman to hold a world title in 18 years. “I completely admire what he does and his fighting style, but I think I’m the only man in the Super bantamweight division that can beat him.”
For all that, it’s the 22-year-old Gonzalez Jr., not anybody else, that’ll be trying to take Frampton’s head off this weekend. But that hasn’t slipped the Irishman’s mind.
“I’m not looking past Alejandro Gonzalez,” Frampton said. “He’s the only guy I’ve been thinking about… and that’s the way it will remain until the fight.”
