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Carl Frampton vows to make Irish history, could face Lee Selby

Amanda Westcott/Showtime

Carl Frampton has vowed to become the first Irishman to win world titles at three different weights.

The Belfast fighter outscored Mexican Leo Santa Cruz in Brooklyn last month to take the WBA featherweight title.

The victory earned Frampton the belt his manager Barry McGuigan won in 1985 and follows his super-bantamweight championship victory after he stepped up a division.

Frampton appeared at a special homecoming event in the grounds of Belfast City Hall with promoter McGuigan, coach Shane McGuigan and daughters Carla and Rossa as he promised a fight before a home crowd in the city's Windsor Park stadium next summer.

He said: "[I am] the only ever Northern Irishman to win a world title in two divisions, only the second ever Irishman after Steve Collins to win world titles in two different divisions, I would like to have a go at three and stand out on my own."

A potential rematch with Santa Cruz or a tilt at the IBF champion Lee Selby are in Frampton's thoughts.

He said a fight with Selby could come before Christmas.

"Selby is a great fighter, he is someone I respect, I think he is very good, but I just believe me at featherweight now, I don't think there is anyone stopping me, I just feel so strong and whoever wants it next can get it," he said.

"I am in the driving seat, I can call the shots, but we will see where we go, I will let the team decide, but I love Belfast and I want to fight here as much as possible.

"I want to fight here at least once a year and Windsor Park in the summer would be a dream come true."

Frampton is in the top 10 fighters, according to some pundits.

"To actually crack it and get inside, it is great, it is unbelievable, I feel like it is a big achievement and am very happy to be mixing with the sort of guys that are in the top 10," he said.

The 29-year-old said he thought he won last month's fight by two or three rounds.

"When a fighter smiles at you, you can tell that something is wrong and they are trying to play a game. I knew that I was hurting him throughout the fight," he said.

"I fought with my heart rather than my head at times. I could have made the fight much easier for myself but to be honest I was glad that it was a good fight. It is good for my legacy having fights like that with Santa Cruz."