'Collins and Frampton said I can be next Irish star... I'm ready to prove it'
Steve Collins and Carl Frampton are both big admirers of Steven Cairns and the Corkman says he is ready to become a superstar of Irish boxing.
'The Irish Takeover' moved to 11-0 as a professional with the seventh stoppage victory of his career earlier this month when beating tough Mexican Francisco Javier Lucero at the National Stadium in Dublin, knocking him out in the third round.
Frampton has been a long-time admirer of Cairns, stating after watching one of his fights last year that he could be Ireland's next big star.
The 22-year-old also got praise from former middleweight and super-middleweight world champion Collins after his last fight and is now ready to prove both the 'Celtic Warrior' and Frampton correct.
"That's the plan," said Cairns. "Getting words like that off him (Frampton) is what motivates me to keep pushing myself in the gym and after the fight I got to meet Steve Collins and he gave me some kind words.
"He was saying I was definitely the best boxer on the night and he loved watching my style.
"I said to him 'we've got the same initials and I hope I can do what you did one day' and he actually said to me; 'Trust me lad, you're a lot better than I was'.
"It was class. Even when we were leaving the arena, he was driving out and he stopped to put down his window and shouted 'see you later Steven'.
"It was a good buzz because I looked up to the likes of Steve Collins and Carl Frampton and for them to be impressed by my boxing, it's what I've worked hard for since I was a kid and I love it."
The Queensberry-signed and Dave Coldwell-trained fighter is hoping to emulate the heroics of Collins and Frampton as he looks towards winning his first pro title in the coming months.
"I think it shows I'm doing the right things," added Cairns. "Obviously from a young age, moving away from home and deciding this is what I want to do because I believed in myself and I knew I could get there.
"I wouldn't do it unless I believed I was going to be world champion and my plan is to be the best Irish boxer ever and that is by beating the likes of Carl Frampton and Steve Collins, who were both two-weight world champions, and to beat them I have to become a three-weight world champion or the undisputed world champion so that's my goal.
"I want to be known as, when I retire, the best boxer of Irish history, and I'm working towards that every single day, tirelessly every day."
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