Carl Frampton on his exit strategy

Carl Frampton

BELFAST star and former world champion Carl Frampton could be starting the final phase of his career when he boxes Andres Gutierrez on July 29 at the Odyssey Arena.

At just 30 years old, Frampton is a young man, but in boxing terms he can see retirement on a not-too-distant horizon. He is turning his attention to his final fighting years and how he will be remembered. His achievements are remarkable, a unified super-bantamweight champion, he won his first world crown in a purpose built outdoor stadium in his hometown and beat great rival Scott Quigg in Manchester. He became a two-weight titlist after beating Leo Santa Cruz on a thrilling night in New York and was the 2016 Fighter of the Year. But after losing their rematch in Las Vegas in January, Carl has more to give.

However the countdown to the end is beginning. โ€œThis fight coming up, one more before the end of the year, if I get three in next year, that could be it. If you got the Santa Cruz fight, imagine finishing on a high, going and beating Santa Cruz in the trilogy. Drop the mic kind of fight and Iโ€™m off. Who knows? Who knows how itโ€™ll pan out,โ€ he told Boxing News. โ€œItโ€™s getting harder. I enjoy the big nights and I enjoy fight week in the build up. I donโ€™t think Iโ€™ve ever really enjoyed training. I do it because Iโ€™m good at it. And it is getting harder. Iโ€™m looking forward to the day when I can retire. Until that comes Iโ€™m going to give it my all. And itโ€™s probably a couple of years. Two years. In the grand scheme of things over a lifetime, to be happily retired, maybe 32, 33, hopefully have a little bit of dough in the bank, itโ€™s not bad.

โ€œIโ€™d rather be doing this than working nine to five in an officeโ€ฆโ€

He suffered the first loss of his professional career this year, in fact his first defeat since a distant 3-2 amateur loss to a Russian at a tournament in the Czech Republic in 2009. It hurt him. But he has taken in the experience and now plans to recover his form against Gutierrez next.

โ€œI was in Vegas, my kids werenโ€™t there, when I got home and saw my kids, you put things into perspective. Boxing isnโ€™t my life. My two kids and my wife are. Boxing is a very important part of it but there are a lot more important things than boxing. I feel like thereโ€™s still more to come but in a way I feel like Iโ€™ve overachieved too. I dreamed of becoming a world champion when I turned professional. Iโ€™ve done that. That was success. But to unify the division and to win the world title against a great fighter like Santa Cruz in a second weight division, I never thought I would have done that at the start of my career. Iโ€™ve got more to give in this weight division and potentially move up to super-featherweight,โ€ he said. โ€œAt some point Iโ€™d like to tackle super-featherweight.โ€

But he added, โ€œI donโ€™t want to disrespect Gutierrez, itโ€™s a tough fight. Heโ€™s the only one Iโ€™m thinking of at the minute realistically.

โ€œFor him it puts him on the world stage, itโ€™s a big chance for him. But weโ€™ll see. Even if he puts in a good performance, it raises the bar for him.

โ€œThereโ€™s a lot at stake for both of us. Probably more so for me because if I slip up, itโ€™s hard to say where we go from there.โ€

carl frampton

A second defeat would be a disaster. โ€œI havenโ€™t a clue [what he’d do if he lost] and Iโ€™m not even thinking about it. Iโ€™m really confident for this fight but Iโ€™m not taking anything for granted. Iโ€™ve trained hard, Iโ€™ve done the graft in the gym and Iโ€™ll be ready on the night,โ€ he promised.

For a big interview and full fight preview don’t miss next week’s issue of Boxing News magazine

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