rigondeaux23 By Scott Gilfoid: Former WBA/WBO super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux (16-0, 10 KOs) wants to know whether newly crowned WBA super bantamweight champion Carl Frampton (22-0, 14 KOs) will face him or not.

Frampton recently captured the WBA title last Saturday night in beating WBA champ Scott Quigg by a 12 round split decision at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, UK. Frampton, 28, now has until June 27 to defend the WBA 122lb title against mandatory challenger Rigondeaux. What Rigondeaux wants to know is whether Frampton will take the fight or not.

Frampton said after his win over Quigg that he and his team would meet and decide their next move. Frampton is considering moving up to featherweight to face WBA featherweight champion Leo Santa Cruz. Frampton could also choose to vacate his WBA title in order to avoid the fight with the 35-year-old Rigondeaux and hold onto his IBF 122lb title.

Frampton could then face Quigg in a big money rematch. I mean, it would look really bad if Frampton did that, but he probably would cry all the way to the bank because the rematch with Quigg would do well in the UK and make him a lot of cash.

Real #boxing fans shouldn't have love for #fake champs. Vacating a title is the coward way out Are you a coward @RealCFrampton?.

— Guillermo Rigondeaux (@RigoElChacal305) March 3, 2016

Rigondeaux has a stay busy fight this month against British fighter Jazza Dickens (21-1, 6 KOs) on March 12 at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, UK. The fight is considered a dreadful mismatch in the eyes of some boxing fans, but Rigondeaux is doing the right thing by being seen by the UK pubic. This way it potentially puts heat on Frampton to face him, and it also helps build the fight if he does decide to take the fight. I don’t think he will, but it at least helps create some interest.

“Enough said! Run @RealCFrampton run! Now more than ever UK fans should be proud of @JazzaDickens10,” Rigondeaux said.

If Frampton gives up the WBA title, then Rigondeaux could scrap for it against the next available contender unless the World Boxing Association wants to give him the title without a fight. The next highest ranked contender is #1 Moises Flores. That would be a nice little mismatch for Rigondeaux if the WBA ordered the two of them to fight each other.

The 29-year-old Flores is unbeaten, but he clearly isn’t in the same class as Rigondeaux. A fight between those two would be like the WBA basically giving Rigondeaux the title. I would be surprised if the WBA makes Rigondeaux fight Flores for the strap.

In an ideal world. Frampton would just step up to the plate and face Rigondeaux to defend his newly won WBA title, but I think Frampton probably realizes that he wouldn’t match up well against the talented Cuban. Heck, Frampton barely beat an injured Quigg last Saturday night.

It was all Frampton could do to beat Quigg, who was fighting with a broken jaw from the 4th round on. Can you imagine what would happen if Frampton were to face a talent like Rigondeaux? We’re probably talking 12 rounds of clowning by Rigondeaux, and a possibly a body shot knockout win. That’s why I can’t see Frampton taking the fight. Rigondeaux is just too talented.