• Carl Frampton v Kiko Martinez

Frampton: Over-confidence can be my downfall

Nick Parkinson
September 5, 2014
Carl Frampton believes he can only be beaten by over-confidence © PA Photos
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Carl Frampton insists last year's stoppage win over Kiko Martinez and the backing of 16,000 fans in his home city will not lead to him falling victim of complacency on Saturday.

The unbeaten Northern Ireland boxer challenges Martinez for his IBF world super-bantamweight title in a purpose-built stadium in the Titanic Quarter of Belfast. In the dockyard area where the Titanic was built before its launch in 1912, Frampton is confident of sinking Martinez once more after stopping him in nine rounds for the European title in February 2013.

Martinez, 28, rebounded perfectly from his first ever stoppage loss by winning the IBF world title six months later after stopping Columbian Jhonatan Romero in six rounds.

Martinez beat Romero in Atlantic City and has been impressive boxing away from his homeland throughout his career, making his last defence in Japan and stopping Irishman Bernard Dunne in the first round in Dublin in 2007.

Frampton, 27, has not been impressed with Martinez since they last met and believes the only thing that can stop him winning his first world title is if he becomes over-confident.

"The only problem that there could be is complacency from me but I will not allow that to happen," Frampton told ESPN.

"There will be no complacency on my part. The only time I got complacent was in my tenth fight against Robbie Thurley.

Kiko Martinez has won his three fights since losing to Carl Frampton © Getty Images
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"I expected myself to make it easy and knock him out. I won the fight on points over ten rounds but it was more difficult than I thought because I thought it was going to be a lot easier.

"I will never make that mistake again especially against Kiko who has won a world title.

"If you look at what he has done since I knocked him out he got a shot against Jhonatan Romero, probably the weakest world champion in super-bantamweight history and he beat him up.

"Then he beat two other fighters [Jeffrey Mathebula and Hozumi Hasegawa] who were over the hill. He's won away from home but listen he has been to Belfast before and I beat him with a performance that wasn't great from me, but I still came out on top.

"I'm not sure he could have improved since we last fought because I think he did his improving before our fight when he teamed up with Pablo Sarmiento.

"I know I'm an improved fighter because I'm feeling stronger with every fight I have. I've been ready for a world title fight for three or four fights now and I'm more than ready for it now."

Frampton insists the ringside presence of his three-year-old daughter Carla for the first time will not be a distraction or a concern for him.

He said: "It's going to be the first fight my daughter is at and I have envisioned getting her into the ring after the fight and lifting her on to my shoulders, having a photographs taken with her. It's going to be something to cherish forever.

"Carla is very excited. I brought her to watch me spar and I explained to her that after I beat Kiko people will be cheering and taking photographs when she gets into the ring. She knows all about Kiko because I've fought him before.

"People have asked me if it's going to bother me or am I going to take my eye off the ball. That's not the case - I know for a fact that if my daughter is sitting in the crowd I'm not going to let Kiko Martinez embarrass me in front of her.

"My wife, Christine, is expecting and she's due in the middle of November. This could be a massive year for me, possibly the best year of my life."

As well as celebrating in the ring with Carla and dedicating the fight to the memory of his grandfather Hughie Frampton who died last month, Frampton hopes to be feasting on Pavlova on Sunday.

"Pavlova is a ritual now" Frampton told ESPN. "I have a couple weeks of pigging out but eating the pavolova is pretty much out of the ring and I scoff it down in two or three spoonfuls.

"It's a lady called Margaret who owns a very humble café close to my mother in law's house. She's very kind but she tries to make them when I'm in camp as well so I will have to knock that on the end."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd
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