On Saturday, July 18th, Carl Frampton will face Alejandro Gonzalez to defend his IBF Super Bantamweight title.
The fight will be shown live on terrestrial television in America on the CBS network as part of the Premier Boxing Champions series. Andy Lee and Amir Khan have fought on PBC shows in recent months.
Speaking after the fight was announced, Frampton said, “I want to become a star in the USA and this is my first step on that journey. Alejandro Gonzalez Jr. is a dangerous Mexican challenger but he has never fought anyone like me and on the 18th of July he is in for a big, big shock. I feel I am the best Super Bantamweight in the world and I am excited to box in front of a huge television audience in the USA.”
The Belfast native made the first defence of his World title in Belfast in February, when he defeated Chris Avalos in five rounds. The 28 year old remains unbeaten with a 20-0 record, 14 of those wins have come inside the distance.
Speaking to Off the Ball this evening, Carl's manager Barry McGuigan, who joined the show to speak along with Frampton, told Ger Gilroy that he really doesn't think Frampton has anything to worry about but that his opponent may be a little tougher.
"You've got concerns for every fight.
"We know this guy is a very capable fighter, I think he'll be considerably tougher than Carl's last opponent Chris Avalos. So we are prepared for every possible eventuality.
He continued: "It's a very exciting adventure... Carl's first time to box in America on terrestrial television and quite honestly, it doesn't matter where we are as long as we're going into the homes of every person in America. That's a massive opportunity for us."
However, Barry was pretty sure he will win: "Carl Frampton is not Barry McGuigan, Carl Frampton is his own entity. He's a different fighter to me, different personality, different guy completely. He's in great condition coming into this flight.
"He's going to do a number on Alejandro Gonzalez, I can assure you of that."
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