By Shaun Brown

While the fight is still to be announced Carl Frampton (26-1, 15 KOs) has fired an early shot at unbeaten IBF Featherweight champion Josh Warrington (27-0, 6 KOs) by saying he is a level above him.

The pair are mooted to appear later in the year, and their promoter Frank Warren seemed to confirm as much telling 20+ thousand vocal Frampton fans that the fight was on after the Belfast man proved a couple of levels too lofty for Australia’s Luke Jackson at Windsor Park on August 18.

Speaking in his latest column for Belfast newspaper Sunday Life Frampton admitted that the contract hasn’t been signed yet, albeit due to the family man taking time out overseas with his wife and children.

Should the two-weight world champion get a crack at Warrington’s IBF strap later this year, as the boxing public expect, then Frampton believes that he will have too much for the ‘Leeds Warrior’.

“He (Warrington) is unbeaten and full of confidence but I just feel – as I said going into the Jackson fight – that I am a level above Warrington.

“I would say that some people see it as a more difficult fight than maybe they first thought a year ago – including myself, mainly because of the fact he has beaten Lee Selby, so I will have to be physically and mentally at the top of my game.”

Back in May Warrington and Selby ended their rivalry in another outdoor Frank Warren promotion, this time at Elland Road, Leeds, with Warrington proving too hot to handle for the Welsh slickster. Pressure, street wise tactics and his own underrated ability simply proved too much for Selby who lost his title via a split decision, despite Warrington’s dominance in the fight. It capped off a five and a half year rise for Warrington taking him from English to world champion.

Frampton, however, offered his own reality check in his Sunday Life column,

“It has to be realised that Warrington’s best win has been against a weight-drained Selby who has left super-featherweight and gone to lightweight [yet to be confirmed] for his return which tells you a lot. Warrington still couldn’t get rid of him and I would also look back to the trouble he had with Kiko Martinez (May 2017) who was done.”

Away from all talk of fighting Warrington it was time to look back on a night he will never forget for Frampton. Windsor Park, 25,000 people, something that he had dreamed of his entire career. And ‘The Jackal’ admits he would love to go back to the home of the Northern Ireland football team next summer playing his part in another world title fight.

“The Northern Ireland public made it a night I will never forget, everything about it was brilliant. The atmosphere was incredible, and everybody there really enjoyed themselves – it had a festival atmosphere and I think the rain even helped with that. Who wouldn’t want another night like that?”

Twitter @sbrown2pt0