Carl Frampton believes Michael Conlan will rise to the occasion in front of his home fans and become world champion on May 27.
Conlan has been handed a massive date against IBF featherweight king Luis Alberto Lopez at the SSE Arena.
Frampton knows what it takes to win a world title in Belfast, having beaten Kiko Martinez to win the IBF super-bantamweight belt at Titanic Quarter back in 2014.
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He believes the home crowd can carry Conlan to similar glory later this year.
Frampton told the Sunday Life: "What a night it will be at the SSE Arena on May 27 when Michael Conlan challenges Luis Alberto Lopez for the IBF featherweight title.
"For the first time in a few years, world title boxing is back in the city and although there have been some big cards in the interim, this really does have the feel of a huge night with other really exciting fights on the card involving Anthony Cacace and Padraig McCrory.
"The main event is a genuinely great fight. There are occasions where people get world titles the easy way with a vacant belt on the line, but Mick will have truly earned his world title if he can manage to beat this guy.
"Lopez has a couple of losses in his career, but they are some time ago and he has improved a lot. He’s still relatively young and is a very good fighter.
"He jumps in from different angles, punches hard, has a solid chin and has won away from home in a hostile environment when he beat Josh Warrington in Leeds to become champion before Christmas, so coming to Belfast won’t spook him.
"I don’t want to contradict myself, but the flip side is that home advantage will be good for Mick as it will help him and I can vouch for that as I was in a similar situation when I won my first world title against Kiko Martinez.
"Kiko came to me because, in Belfast, we are able to generate such a fan base that helps brings money and TV to the table, whereas others may not be in such a privileged position.
"The pressure for me was different as the guy I was fighting, I’d already beaten for the European title so the pressure came from people expecting me to do it again as I had beaten Kiko once already.
"This will be different for Mick as although he would love to win the title at home, he’s in against a very good fighter and at 31, I would think he’d have thought he may have already won a world title by this stage."
Frampton believes Conlan, at the age of 31, will be eager to claim a world title.
The Jackal says it was at this age that he noticed his own performances 'start to dip'.
He added: "He is certainly not on the slide but when I was hitting this age, it’s when I started to dip and although it’s not the end of the road if he were to lose this, he still needs to get his hands on a title quickly as it will be difficult to rebuild as time waits for no-one.
"Since the defeat to Leigh Wood, Mick has enjoyed some big nights at home against Miguel Marriaga and Karim Guerfi, but this is big-time boxing he is bringing back to the city.
"It’s a really hard fight to call but what I will say is that Mick will have earned his win and I’m backing him to do the job.
"I’m also very happy this is being picked up by BT Sport as I get the chance to work a Belfast fight week which is always special. I’ve never experienced a really big fight week in the city apart from my own, so I’m buzzing to see the other side of it."
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