By Scott Gilfoid: Eddie Hearn, the promoter for WBA World super bantamweight champion Scott Quigg (30-0-2, 22 KOs), is hoping that a unification match between the 26-year-old Quigg and Frampton can take place now rather than later.
The two fighters may end up making normal title defenses for their next fights, and that’s not something that Hearn wants. He sees there being too much risk of injury or possible defeats if the two fighters keep putting off their UK mega-fight.
“The fans want to see it next. If Scott Quigg was to have a voluntary defense and Carl Frampton was to have a voluntary defense, I think people would be disappointed,” Hearn said via the Newsletter.co.uk.
I don’t know that boxing fans will make a big production about Frampton and Quigg not facing each other now rather than later. I mean, it’s an interesting fight only because it clears out one of the many paper champions in the 122 pound division, but it’s hardly the best fight. Neither of these guys are considered to be the No.1 fighter in the super bantamweight division, and if boxing had it’s act together, there would only be one champion per division rather than five like there is now.
I’m not counting the silly interim straps. If you add those champions to the equation, it just gets way out of hand. For many boxing fans, WBA/WBO super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux is seen as the real No.1 champion in the 122 pound division. As such, Frampton and Quigg are more like contenders right now in my view rather than them being champions. Whether either of them ever take the challenge to fight the main guy Rigondeaux is debatable. I think the only way they’ll face the Cuban is once he starts looking old and vulnerable. At that point it’ll be blood in the water and I can see Quigg and Frampton circling Rigondeaux to try and quickly get a fight against him.
“I think now is the time for the fight to be made. We don’t want Scott Quigg to have a fight in May or June,” Hearn said. “We want him to go straight into the Frampton fight. You know, things can happen in fights. You can get beat, or you can get injured. You could not look as good and you could devalue the fight.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8qmA7JjU_M
With the way that Hearn has been matching Quigg lately, I don’t see him losing to anyone. It’s not that Quigg is a great fighter, but rather that Hearn is matching him against very, very beatable opposition. I don’t see Hearn breaking that trend by putting Quigg in against a live body anytime soon.
Quigg and Frampton might as well face each other because it’s not as if there’s anyone else interesting for them to fight other than Rigondeaux. At least if they get it over with then they both get nice little paydays, and then winner will get another strap to add to their collection. That would mean there would be two multiple champions at 122. It would be a ton of pressure on the Frampton-Quigg winner to face Rigondeaux at that point in order for them to prove who the real top dog is at 122.
Like I said, I don’t see that happening until the 34-year-old Rigondeaux starts looking over-the-hill with age. Until then, no way do I see Quigg or Frampton getting 3,000 miles from the Cuban fighter. Yeah, some people will call Frampton and Quigg paper champions, but at least they won’t have been beaten soundly by Rigondeaux. I mean, look at what happened to Nonito Donaire after he got schooled by Rigondeaux two years ago. Donaire’s career still hasn’t rebounded as of yet.
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