Friday 5 August 2016 14:00, UK
Steve Collins believes Carl Frampton could be not only Ireland's best-ever boxer but also the current number one in the world.
The former two-weight world champion from Dublin is expecting The Jackal's achievements to overshadow his own and Barry McGuigan's on the back of his win over Leo Santa Cruz last weekend.
Collins, who won middleweight and super-middleweight world titles and is best-know for back-to-back wins over Chris Eubank Sr and Nigel Benn, is already convinced Belfast's Frampton (23-0-KO14) is the new number one in the featherweight division but believes he will only get better.
"Without a doubt, he can be the best fighter ever to come out of Ireland, and maybe even the best in the world right now - he's already the best featherweight in the world," he told The Irish Post.
"Look at his record, he's only had 23 fights and he's a two-weight world champion at the age of 29, you can't underestimate that."
Frampton's WBA Super world featherweight title win saw him hand Santa Cruz (32-1-1-KO18) his first defeat with a mixed decision points in a contender for the fight of the year.
The victory came on the back of a super-bantamweight unification win over British rival Scott Quigg in February and Collins (36-3-KO21) believes Frampton could easily move up in weight in the future.
"He's still got around 15 fights left in him and he can go and win a third world title in a bigger weight if he wants to," he said.
"Look at the shoulders and the build on him. He can be as good as he wants to be. He's got the work ethic, the dedication and the right team around him,"
Santa Cruz's team are already calling for a rematch with Frampton back in America, while current IBF featherweight world champion Lee Selby wants an all-British unification fight before the end of the year.
