In his hometown of Belfast, Northern Ireland, junior featherweight titleholder Carl "The Jackal" Frampton is a big deal.
He's such a big deal that when he outpointed Kiko Martinez to win the 122-pound belt in September, a temporary, 16,000-seat stadium in the Titanic Quarter of the city was built just for the sold-out fight. Before that fight and since, Frampton has drawn raucous crowds.
While Frampton loves the support he receives at home, he is hungry for more. He wants to be a worldwide boxing figure, not just Belfast's best.
To Frampton that means going on the road to America.
"It's important to be in the States," Frampton said. "It's important to create a legacy. I want to travel. I want to fight in big arenas all over the world, and America is the place to be."
Frampton has been in the United States for more than a week for the final preparations for his second title defense, which will come against Mexico's Alejandro Gonzalez Jr. on a Premier Boxing Champions card Saturday (CBS, 4 p.m. ET) at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas, where big underdog Gonzalez undoubtedly will have a largely Mexican crowd on his side.
In the co-feature, former two-time heavyweight title challenger Chris Arreola (36-4, 31 KOs), with a possible third shot, against Deontay Wilder on Sept. 26, hanging in the balance, faces Fred Kassi (18-3-0, 10 KOs).
"This is my first step away from the U.K. and Ireland as a professional, so I'd probably describe it as an adventure. I'm looking forward to it," Frampton said. "At home in Belfast, I draw big crowds and screaming fans but, at the end of the day, I look at it as a ring is a ring, and I'm fighting one guy and that's it, no matter where the ring is."
Frampton (20-0, 14 KOs), 28, who recently signed with PBC creator Al Haymon, made the move knowing it would give him the opportunity to appear on American network television, which could launch him toward the international stardom he craves.
"I'm pretty well known in the U.K. and Ireland, but in the United States, unless you're a die-hard boxing fan, you won't know who Carl Frampton is," he said. "So this is giving me the chance for a lot of exposure on terrestrial television. It's a big deal.
"So this is great for me. Well, not only for me, for boxing and also for our pretty new promotional team, Cyclone Promotions, to have one of their fighters showcased on both sides of the Atlantic."
Indeed, while Frampton will be seen on American network television, the time difference will allow his bout to be in prime time in the U.K. on broadcast network ITV.
Cyclone Promotions' Barry McGuigan, the Hall of Fame former featherweight champion, has spent years helping build Frampton's career.
He had the luxury of coming up on network television in the U.K. and eventually made his way to the United States, where he lost his title to Stevie Cruz in 1986 by memorable 15-round decision in Las Vegas (on the first card ever televised by Showtime).
McGuigan, who became a major star, knows the importance that network television exposure can provide.
"My name was sort of written in stone 30 years ago because I appeared on terrestrial TV," McGuigan said. "It's been that way for a long time, and I think what PBC is doing -- it's great for us to be associated with the go-to guy [Haymon] at the moment in boxing.
"To get terrestrial television fans interested in boxing, casual boxing fans, not just the aficionados but people who are genuinely of a casual interest in boxing [and] the ones who will watch big fights. I think it's great not just for Carl Frampton but great for all the fighters on the bill and great for boxing in general. ... The reality is when your career is dead and buried all they remember is the stuff you've done in the United States. So it's a very important decision for us to come over here and try and be impressive and trying to make a name for ourselves."
Linking up with Haymon also opens the doors for significant fights Frampton might not otherwise be in the running for had he remained in the U.K. A fight with secondary titleholder Scott Quigg is a big deal there, but talks have gone nowhere.
As big as a Quigg fight might be, Frampton will have plenty of other options. Haymon also works with featherweight titleholders Gary Russell Jr. and Jesus Cuellar as well as former titleholder Abner Mares and junior featherweight titlist Leo Santa Cruz, who is about to vacate his title and will meet Mares on Aug. 29 (ESPN).
All of those fighters are potential opponents for Frampton, which is what he wants.
"Without linking up with [Haymon], it would have been pretty hard to make them fights," Frampton said. "So it was a pretty easy decision. We are very grateful for the opportunity here."
Said McGuigan: "It would be foolish certainly of me not to look ahead and plan ahead and think about what are the super fights out there for us, and that is against Leo Santa Cruz and Abner Mares, Gary Russell, and I believe Frampton can to go 130 [pounds] as well and be successful there. But one stage at a time, and we're not taking our eyes off the ball on [Saturday]. It's a very tough fight for us."
Gonzalez, 22, of Mexico, is the son of Alejandro "Cobrita" Gonzalez Sr. (49-5-1, 33 KOs), a pro from 1988 to 2003, whose career was highlighted by holding a featherweight world title in 1995. Gonzalez Jr. (25-1-2, 15 KOs) has an attractive record but has generally faced abysmal competition and few give him much of a chance against Frampton, who many regard as the best 122-pounder in boxing behind unified champion Guillermo Rigondeaux.
Gonzalez, however, said he believes in himself.
"I have a big chance, a great opportunity," Gonzalez said. "I am going to take advantage of it. For this fight we worked differently in training camp than all my other camps. I worked more on my defense, my attack and counterpunches. Everything about this camp is different and focused solely on Frampton. It's Frampton's first time coming to the United States, and he wants to be a superstar. But in order to become a superstar, he must first get by me.
"I know that he's a great fighter with a lot of experience and a hard-hitting punch, but nothing that I can't handle. I'm not going to be afraid of anyone. Even though this will be the biggest fight of my career, I won't be nervous."
Regardless of Gonzalez's confidence, Frampton and his team are planning ahead for more fights in the United States. If he beats Gonzalez, the plan is for his next fight to be in Northern Ireland followed by a U.S. return -- this time to the East Coast, home to so many Irish.
Saturday's fight is only in El Paso because of the relative short notice of the fight after he signed with Haymon and the logistics of there also being a Showtime card headlined by Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. at the same arena on Saturday night as part of a Showtime/CBS cross-promotion.
"We have a few hundred fans coming to El Paso for the fight. El Paso is not easy to get to from the U.K.," Frampton said. "On the East Coast, like in New York or Boston or Philadelphia, I would have brought a few thousand people over."
Said McGuigan: "There are at the last count 27 million people of Irish descent in America. I think that's on the East Coast actually. So we want to get into that market."
In the meantime, lots of those Irish fans, as well as boxing fans of all kinds, will get a chance to see the exciting Frampton on the U.S. airwaves.
What kind of impression does Frampton want those seeing him for the first time to come away with?
"I would like them to think this is a young, exciting Irishman, who has a big set of b---- and likes to fight," he said. "I know to be TV friendly you have to knock these guys out. If Alejandro Gonzalez wants to fight, great. If not, I will hunt him down and make him fight. I want the fans to be excited."