Upwards of 5,000 Irish fans are expected to roar on Carl Frampton at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas this Saturday night, as the Tiger's Bay boxer defends his WBA World featherweight title in a rematch with Leo Santa Cruz.
Other fight codes have perhaps seen similar Irish invasions of Vegas in recent years, but not since Ricky Hatton's heyday has American boxing witnessed such transatlantic takeovers of the Vegas strip.
The soon-to-be 30-year-old's face is plastered across the city; he is, after all, THE RING Magazine's Fighter of the Year for 2016, and is about to engage in a rematch of his fight of the year contender with the California-based Mexican.
Such is his newfound and growing stardom Stateside, Frampton and his team have been upgraded to the MGM's penthouse suite. Such is his Irishness, he doesn't have a notion what to make of his VIP treatment. He told reporters at the hotel:
I was in a two-bedroom suite but we have just been moved into the Sky Lofts which is pretty nice.
These things are amazing. It's like a separate hotel in the MGM. There are people standing to attention when you walk past. I feel out of place. But it's nice.
It shows you where I have come from staying in Travelodges and Premier Inns, so this is a bit different. It’s surreal.
I don't want to say 'I don't care' because I do care, but it doesn't really affect me. I don't know why. Maybe I'll reflect on it a little bit more after boxing.
Maybe that makes me a weirdo, but I don't get carried away with that sort of thing. I get hyped up before the fight and Barry is the best man in the world at motivating you before a fight. He'll talk about my family and why I'm doing this. It's a big deal, I know.
At this stage, Frampton's manager Barry McGuigan interjected (according to The Star's Chris McKenna) and blurted out:
"I have a butler called Eric!"
Frampton then name-dropped his own butler, acknowledging the surreal nature of a modest man from Tiger's Bay having a butler at all:
Mine's called Blake.
I don’t think he knows who I am or what I am doing. He pretends he does but I don’t think so.
He's quick to point out that if he gets carried away with himself, his family back home will be quick to tell him to catch himself on.
Perhaps Blake can walk him to the ring downstairs on Saturday night, where he faces another date with destiny against a friendly rival.
The fight will be broadcast live on Sky Sports, with coverage beginning at 1am.
Below, five-time national champion Eric Donovan, who sparred Frampton on many occasions, joined Gavan Casey and Irish-boxing.com's Joe O'Neill to break down a mouth-watering fight.
