CARL FRAMPTON admits his career will be over if he is beaten by Luke Jackson on August 18.
The “Jackal” takes on the 16-0 Australian at his beloved Windsor Park in a defence of the interim WBO featherweight title.
Victory will open the door to opportunities against the current champions at his weight, with Oscar Valdez, Josh Warrington, Gary Russell Jnr and former opponent Leo Santa Cruz currently holding the belts.
But Frampton says he can forget about facing any of them – or ever boxing as a professional again should 11/1 underdog Jackson pull off one of the upsets of the year.
“I want to be world champion again,” Frampton said. “If I lose this fight my career is over, that’s the truth.
“It’s because it’s at Windsor and the fights that come after it as well.
“I’m not intending to lose it, I want the big fights and I want bigger names than Luke Jackson – Leo Santa Cruz, Oscar Valdez, Josh Warrington…
“These are the guys that I want, these are the guys that I’m talking about but I need to get past Jackson first and I’m intending to do that.
“I’m not taking him for granted – I saw Josh Warrington saying I was but what would he know? He hasn’t been in my camp, so what does he know? I’m not taking Luke Jackson for granted in the slightest.
“I’ve done that before against Alejandro Gonzalez and I ended up on my backside twice in the first round. I’ve learned from that fight.
“I believe that I’m a better fighter than Luke Jackson, I’ve fought at a higher level. I believe I’m better than him but I’ve trained hard for the fight, I’m sparring well in the gym – we’ve got good sparring in – and I’ve been pushing myself to the limit.”
The home favourite also says Jackson will never have experienced anything like the atmosphere which awaits him at Windsor Park.
Frampton has already garnered a reputation as one of the best supported fighters on the planet after a string of memorable nights in his home city of Belfast.
But things will be stepped up a notch on August 18 when he steps out for his dream night outdoors at Windsor Park.
Although he admits he is disappointed that the occasion will not be punctuated by a world title challenge, Frampton insists he is not taking the challenge of 16-0 Jackson lightly.
But the 31-year-old from Tigers Bay, a former two-weight world champion, has warned his opponent that he will not know what has hit him when he makes his walk to the ring.
Frampton said: “He’s talked about boxing in front of big crowds at the Olympics and referring to his amateur career and what he has done but this is different.
“This is going to be really hostile – it won’t be people sitting and clapping a good shot.
“This is going to be completely different. I don’t know what he’s expecting but this is going to be different.
“It’s going to be very, very noisy and something he’s never experienced before.
“No disrespect to Luke Jackson but he’s not a huge name in world boxing.
“That’s fact – he’s not a huge name and I was a bit worried about how people would react. I know they wanted it to be for a world title, I wanted it to be for a world title but there’s nothing that could be done about that.
“No one of the champions were available so we picked someone who was highly-ranked in the WBO, but still not a household name. I was a bit concerned [about selling tickets] but it’s looking like it’s going to sell out.
“I believe I’m one of the best supported fighters in the world. It’s an interim world title fight and to sell it out is an achievement.”
