By Scott Gilfoid: Eddie Hearn, the promoter for WBA regular super bantamweight champion Scott Quigg (30-0-2, 22 KOs), is convinced that the World Boxing Association won’t stop Hearn’s unification fight that he’s looking to put together between Quigg and IBF 122 pound champion Carl Frampton (20-0, 14 KOs) this year.
WBA/WBO champion Guillermo Rigondeaux’s manager Gary Hyde is looking to force Quigg to face Rigondeaux next. Quigg, 26, has held the WBA 122lb title for two years now without him facing Rigondeaux, the WBA Super World super bantamweight champion.
Hyde petitioned the WBA recently, asking them to force the Rigondeaux-Quigg fight next. However, Hearn has other ideas, saying that it’s not Hyde’s job to try and force fights. Hearn says that Rigondeaux can face Quigg after the Quigg-Frampton fight. That obviously isn’t going to make Hyde or Rigondeaux happy, because Quigg would likely be an underdog in a fight against Frampton, and he’ll lose the fight.
Once Quigg has lost to Frampton, and got a good payday from that fight, there’s no way that the WBA can enforce a fight between Quigg and Rigondeaux. I mean, there would be no reason for that fight to take place due to Quigg having lost his WBA title. Further, Frampton would likely not face Rigondeaux either, because he could always vacate the WBA title if the WBA pushes him to take the fight with Rigondeaux. Frampton would still have his IBF title, so he wouldn’t be without a title belt.
“It’s nothing to do with Gary Hyde and I’ve informed the WBA of our plans to fight Carl Frampton in a unification fight next,” Hearn said via ESPN.co.uk. “It’s not Gary Hyde’s job to enforce mandatory fights; that’s the WBA’s job, and we are looking to make the biggest fight in the division. That’s our absolute priority and the Rigondeaux fight with Quigg can come after that.”
I kind of doubt that Hearn is on the level about him saying that the Rigondeaux vs. Quigg fight can happen next after the Quigg-Frampton fight. Even if Quigg is able to beat Frampton, I don’t see Hearn giving the green light to letting his money fighter Quigg take the fight against Rigondeaux.
The chances of Quigg losing and getting totally clowned by the Cuban fighter is just too high for Hearn to make that fight. I see Quigg as a paper champion, and I don’t see him as a legitimate belt holder. He’s holding down the WBA 122 regular title, but I see him as one of the many contenders in the division. The WBA has further watered down the super bantamweight division by creating three champions in this weight class with the WBA interim, WBA World and WBA Super World champions.
At the end of the day, I believe Quigg or Frampton would vacate the WBA title if they’re pushed by the WBA to take a fight against Rigondeaux. I see them as steering around Rigondeaux until he’s showing signs of being a totally shot fighter in the future.
At 34, Frampton and Quigg will likely have to wait another 4 to 5 years before Rigondeaux is old enough for them to beat him. At that point, I see them pushing hard for the fight against him in order to add his scalp to their resumes. The casual boxing fans will be impressed, but of course the hardcore fans will wonder why Frampton and Quigg didn’t fight Rigondeaux while he was still in his prime.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeaVS6yR7XA
The WBA could really throw a wrench in Hearn’s plans for making the Frampton-Quigg fight if they were to order Quigg to fight Rigondeaux next. It would be really interesting to see what Hearn would have Quigg do at this point. I’d like to think that Hearn would have Quigg face Rigondeaux in order to show the boxing fans in the UK that he’s not ducking the Cuban fighter, but I don’t think that would happen. The moment the WBA orders Quigg to face Rigondeaux, I see Quigg giving up his WBA title like it’s infected with the plague. I see the Quigg-Frampton fight happening next no matter what the WBA does. If they order the Quigg-Rigondeaux fight, Hearn can simply instruct Quigg to vacate the WBA title rather than fight Rigondeaux. That way Quigg would still have his unbeaten record at the time that he faces Frampton. The unbeaten record is very important for Quigg because it validates him as a good fighter in the minds of his loyal fans. Many of them don’t realize that Quigg has yet to face anyone that you can call a really good fighter at 122 like Rigondeaux or Leo Santa Cruz.
“Talks are ongoing with Frampton’s team, they are frustratingly slow,” Hearn said. “We have made them aware of our offer from our broadcaster which is significant and we are waiting for an offer from their broadcaster, which is taking some time. This is a once in a lifetime fight and the fighters need to earn as much money as possible.”
I see the WBA not giving Hearn and Quigg any problems by them ordering a fight between Quigg and Rigondeaux. But like I said, if the WBA does order the Rigondeaux-Quigg fight, then you can expect Quigg to vacate the WBA title as quick as possible, and then going ahead and fight Frampton anyway. Of course, it’ll make Quigg look bad if they vacate the WBA title rather than fighting Rigondeaux, but I think they’ll be counting on the casual boxing fans in the UK not being aware of that.
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