By Scott Gilfoid: If you were hoping to see newly crowned IBF super bantamweight champion Carl Frampton (19-0, 13 KOs) face what many boxing fans consider to be the best fighter in the 122 pound division in WBA/WBO champion Guillermo Rigondeaux, you can forget all about that fight.
Frampton’s promoter Barry McGuigan says they have no interest in fighting the talented Cuban fighter for they see him as someone who brings nothing to the table in terms of money, TV or fan appeal. Of course, this is the standard line that other boxing promoters mention when they wish to have their fighter avoid someone who would likely expose their fighter by beating them soundly.
“We’re not interested in Rigondeaux. He makes no money and no brings no TV,” McGuigan said via ESPN.co.uk. “He can’t draw 500 Cubans in Miami. This is a business. Don’t get me wrong, he’s fabulous but he’s awkward and negative.”
I’m not sure that I would describe Rigondeaux as being awkward and negative. Rigondeaux is a two-time Olympic gold medalist from Cuba, who clowned Nonito Donaire last year in beating him by a lopsided 12 round unanimous decision.
Donaire was considered to be the best fighter in the super bantamweight division before that fight, and now Rigondeaux has taken over that honor in the minds of a lot of boxing fans. If McGuigan wants to dismiss Rigondeaux by describing him as being negative and not being a draw, you have to see it as his fighter Frampton’s loss, because until he fights Rigondeaux, Frampton is going to be considered beneath him in the eyes of a lot of the fans in boxing. Even if Frampton defeats Scott Quigg, Leo Santa Cruz, Abner Mares and Johnny Gonzales, Rigondeaux will still be there at the top of the 122 pound division.
What McGuigan and Frampton may choose to do is wait the 34-year-old Rigondeaux out until he gets older, and then look to fight him and then claim victory if they can beat him when he’s older. I’d hate to see it play out that way because a victory over Rigondeaux years from now won’t mean nearly as much as it would be if Frampton stepped up to the plate and took him on in his prime.
McGuigan is hoping to setup a unification fight between Frampton and the junior WBA super bantamweight champion Scott Quigg next. However, the IBF has already said that the IBF champion, which is now Frampton, has to fight the IBF mandatory challenger next in Chris Avalos.
McGuigan is going to need to get permission by the International Boxing Federation for Frampton to bypass the dangerous Avalos fight for the bigger money fight against Quigg.
I don’t see why McGuigan is in such a rush to make the Frampton vs. Quigg fight. I mean, if Frampton is as good as McGuigan thinks he is, he should be able to defeat Avalos, right? We’re only talking about one measly fight that Frampton would have to take before he’d get his so-called mouth-watering fight against the junior WBA 122 pound champion in Quigg.
If they can’t wait one fight then what does that tell you about Frampton and McGuigan? It tells me there’s some general concern about whether they can get past Avalos, who is one tough cookie.
“The wish list for Carl’s next opponent is Santa Cruz No.1, Quigg No.2, Abner Mares No.3 and then Johnny Gonzalez,” McGuigan said.
I have serious reservations whether McGuigan will even be able to setup the fight with Quigg, because he’s already talking about Quigg having to agree to fight in Belfast, and I’m not sure that Quigg and his promoter Eddie Hearn are going to go along with that. I mean, why would they want to put themselves in a situation where they’ll be facing an amped up Frampton in Belfast and have to be put in a situation where they might need a KO to ensure they get a victory.
It might not be worth it. Quigg has a good situation right now milking his WBA title against obscure opposition for easy paydays. If he goes ahead and fights Frampton in Belfast, he could wind up losing his WBA strap and a long with it the nice paydays he’s been receiving.
I doubt that Santa Cruz is going to want to fight Frampton in Belfast either or anywhere in the UK. I see him only taking the fight if Frampton comes to the U.S to make the fight. Would Frampton step out of his comfort zone to make a fight between him and Santa Cruz happen? I’d have to say that’s a big no.
If Santa Cruz turns down Belfast, I see McGuigan and Frampton moving on until they find a fighter who will fight in Belfast or who has no other choice but to fight there. That might rule out Mares and Johnny Gonzales as well. About the only guy I can see willing to fight Frampton in Belfast is Rigondeaux, who they evidently want no part of. What a shame.
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