Carl Frampton vs. Chris Avalos: Fight Time, Date and TV Info

Carl "The Jackal" Frampton (19-0, 13 KO) will defend his IBF super bantamweight title on Saturday against Chris "The Hitman" Avalos (25-2, 19 KO) in the champion's hometown of Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The Odyssey Arena will be rocking as Frampton makes his first defense of the title against a tough American fighter who has won his last six fights.

The energy for this bout should be incredible. Here's how you can watch.

When: Saturday, Feb. 28 at 5:50 p.m. ET

Where: Odyssey Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland

TV: ITV

Looking for Style Points

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He has the world title, now Frampton is looking to win bouts as impressively as possible. Per BBC.com, Frampton said:

"I want to keep on winning and look explosive in every single contest. He's cocky [Avalos] but I'll knock that out of him."

Frampton's explosive victories over Kiko Martinez and Jeremy Parodi in 2013, along with his win over Hugo Fidel Cazares in 2014, made an impression on folks in the boxing community. The knockouts punctuated Frampton's arrival to the class of the elite in his division.

To graduate to elite status in the pound-for-pound rankings, Frampton has to continue to win impressively and take on bigger and better competition.

That likely means facing WBC champ Leo Santa Cruz and/or WBO and WBA title holder Guillermo Rigondeaux at some point.

For now, Avalos qualifies as a satisfactory test for the 28-year-old Frampton. It's one the champion fully expects to pass.

Born to Fight

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Lancaster, California, native Chris Avalos calls boxing his first love, per David Kelly of the Belfast Telegraph. Avalos said that some of his peers growing up were led astray by gangs and drugs. What kept Avalos out of adverse situations?

He said:

"

Boxing gave me a purpose and a direction, it kept me away from the gangs and things like that. Growing up in the gym kept me on the right path and you know I just love to fight, and I know that to be a good fighter you have to be dedicated...I was just born to fight.

"

On Saturday, his purpose will be to dethrone Northern Ireland's favorite boxing son in his hometown. It's going to be a tall task, but Avalos is no stiff. He's scored three straight knockout or technical knockout wins over decent competition, and he's never been stopped. At just 25 years old, he's approaching his prime as a boxer.

Now is the ideal time to be heading into the biggest fight of his career.

Wonder what Frampton was referring to when he called Avalos "cocky"?

In the interview below with Irish-Boxing.com, Avalos says that he's sparred with better fighters than Frampton during training.

Those are fighting words. We'll see who can back up their talk on Saturday.

Prediction

Avalos loves to apply pressure. He has a nice wide stance and a good chin. He isn't that difficult to hit, especially with right hands over the top of his periodically low left hand.

Frampton will need to be careful early to avoid eating a shot that puts him peril. However, once he times him, Frampton should be able to open up a bit more.

Ultimately, Frampton's physical gifts and increasing confidence will put him in position to succeed.

He'll catch Avalos with a big shot in the seventh round that ends the challenger's evening.

Follow Brian Mazique on Twitter. I dig boxing and MMA.