After being unable to procure a world title bout, former two-weight world champion Carl Frampton has settled on facing Australia’s unbeaten Luke Jackson at his beloved Windsor Park Stadium in Belfast on August 18.

Frampton, who is rated No. 3 by THE RING at featherweight, is coming off an impressive 12-round unanimous decision victory over Nonito Donaire and had hoped to bring a featherweight world titleholder to his home city.

Unfortunately, none of the top names were available for the date in question, but Frampton (25-1, 14 knockouts) will have the consolation of fulfilling his dream to fight at Northern Ireland’s national soccer stadium in front of approximately 24,000 fans.

“I’ll be ready for this fight and I’ll need to be in the shape of my life,” said Frampton at the opening press conference which was held at Windsor Park.

“There’s bigger fights on the horizon, but I can’t overlook Luke Jackson. I need to do a job on him and Windsor Park deserves a top quality performance.

“Luke Jackson is an Olympian and an undefeated fighter. I learned a lesson not to underestimate any opponent when I fought Alejandro Gonzalez in Texas. I thought I was going to blow him away and ended up on my backside twice in the first round.”

Jackson (16-0, 9 KOs) represented Australia in the 2012 Olympics in London, but he has never come close to mixing with anything resembling Frampton’s quality as a professional.

“It’s a massive opportunity,” said Jackson. “I’m not sure many guys would want to come and fight Carl Frampton in his backyard, but I’m willing and able to do so.

“(If I win) my life would change overnight. I’ve been proving people wrong for a long time and I’ll be looking to do it again.

“(Frampton) is very humble. He doesn’t do much trash talking. As a fighter, I wouldn’t say he does anything great, but he does everything very, very good. He’s fundamentally sound and for me to beat him, I’m going to have to be at my best.”

Former heavyweight champion Tyson Fury will appear on the undercard and Cristopher Rosales will defend his WBC flyweight title against Belfast’s Paddy Barnes.

Tom Gray is Associate Editor for THE RING. Follow him on Twitter: @Tom_Gray_Boxing

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