Frampton aiming for more glory after Warrington bout

Carl Frampton has warned Josh Warrington not to be fooled into thinking their fight could be the last of his decorated career.

The Northern Irishman, 31, challenges the IBF featherweight champion on December 22 hoping to win his title and use it to write one final chapter before retiring as one of Britain’s greats.

Frampton said: “I am not thinking about retirement; I am enjoying boxing so will keep going.

“It would be nice to go out on top because not many people get it right. It would be good to go out on a big win rather than someone who is chasing a win. Look at how Ricky Hatton ended, or Roy Jones Jnr.

“A good year would be Warrington, and then (the third fight in a trilogy with) Leo Santa Cruz. Beating Warrington would not be a big enough win for me to retire on. I would like to do Windsor Park again in the summer. We will see.”

Winning Warrington’s title could prove the decisive factor into tempting Santa Cruz into a third fight or securing a similarly high-profile occasion against Mexico’s dangerous Oscar Valdez.

The fact that Frampton trains in Manchester under Jamie Moore and will also fight at the Manchester Arena means he will spend almost the entire Christmas period away from his young family, and he said: “It will be a f****** depressing Christmas if I get beat. But I believe I will win it convincingly.

“I have beaten a number of opponents better than Josh Warrington. It would be a bad Christmas if I lost but I have a life outside of boxing. I have two kids and a wife (Christine) and I will enjoy Christmas no matter what – but it will be better as world champion.

“Josh has prominent eyes and cheekbones and I think I will cut him badly.”

The 27-year-old Warrington produced a significant upset to dethrone Wales’ Lee Selby in May, and he said of Frampton’s retirement plans: “If he’s in there and it’s hard and he’s hurting he will be thinking, ‘My pipe and slippers are only around the corner’.

“That’s where I will go up levels. I’m going in there willing to die.

“When we get into those later stages we will see how mentally strong he is then – it’s down to me to take him there.”