Frampton reveals he was unhappy with first Martinez performance

The clock is ticking down on Carl Frampton’s highly-anticipated rematch with Kiko Martinez on September 6 as both men prepare for their crossroads fight. Even though the first Martinez encounter was seen in many quarters as Frampton’s finest performance to date, he is not a fan of reliving that glorious February evening.

“Although I won the first fight and people see it as one of my better performances, I don’t like watching that fight back. I made so many mistakes in that fight but I’ve learned from them,” assured ‘The Jackal’.

“The first fight was a great fight but a close fight before I came on top. I have to give Kiko a lot of credit for coming back to Belfast. We’ve been chasing a lot of champions, Leo Santa Cruz included, who didn’t want to fight me. I’m showing Kiko a lot of respect here and I won’t be taking anything for granted. This is a fight that I’m going to win because I feel it’s my time to become a world champion. I’ve been ready for a long time and I’m more than ready now.”

Fights with the likes of Leo Santa Cruz, Scott Quigg and Guillermo Rigondeaux have been debated for a while but as yet nothing has been set in stone. If arranged, any one of those bouts on home soil would represent a huge night in the history of Irish boxing. Carl, meanwhile, extended praise to the diminutive Spaniard for not only winning the IBF world crown but also successfully defending it on the road.

“Kiko beat Jhonathan Romero and he beat him well but Romero was one of the weakest champions in the history of the super-bantamweight division. Mathebula was a good fighter but over the hill and the exact same with Hasegawa. He’s looked good but against fighters who are past it. I’m better than we fought the first time and I knocked him out so take what you want from that.

“Everything is falling into place for me and it’s my time to take the title and keep it here in Belfast for a long time to come,” said Frampton.