Carl Frampton v Scott Quigg: Northern Irishman banking on support of Rory McIlroy

Carl Frampton is expecting a good luck message from golfer Rory McIlroy before his showdown with long-time rival Scott Quigg in Manchester on Saturday (27 February). The duo are set to fight for the IBF and WBA world titles at the Manchester Arena, in a bout that has been spoken about for years.

Frampton, 29, is one of Northern Ireland's most celebrated sportsmen and he is expecting to receive some encouragement from his fellow countryman. "I'm sure I'll be hearing from McIlroy some time before the fight and he's sent me a few well wishes in the past," he said ahead of his long-awaited clash against Quigg, according to The Mirror.

"He's a big boxing fan and he's told me he would love to get to one of my fights, but with his schedule – he's at the Honda Classic – he can't make this fight. But it's great to have him behind me and a few of the Northern Ireland footballers and Ulster rugby players have already been in touch.

"This fight is a big deal back home and I know a lot of people are going to be supporting me."

Meanwhile, Frampton also revealed he is looking forward to watching his beloved Northern Ireland in action at this summer's Euros. He sat beside McIlroy at Windsor Park when Northern Ireland beat Greece to qualify for Euro 2016.

"I go to all the games if I'm not in camp and the people at Windsor Park have always been good enough to sort me out with a parking spot," he said. "But for that match, because Windsor Park is being refurbished, when I rang up, McIlroy had got my space! We had a bit of a laugh about that.

"I got a bit of stick when people saw us together on TV and thought I was part of the prawn sandwich brigade because I was sat beside McIlroy, but I'm not. I'm a working-class lad and I've earned everything I have achieved in my career."