By Scott Gilfoid: The British unification fight between IBF 122lb belt holder Carl Frampton (21-0, 14 KOs) and WBA champ Scott Quigg (31-0-2, 23 KOs) is now officially signed and ready to take place on February 27th, 2016 in Manchester, according to the latest boxing news.
It’s considered to be a unification fight now that the World Boxing Association has downgraded WBA “Super” 122lb champion Guillermo Rigondeaux and changed his status to WBA “Emeritus” champion because he hasn’t defended his title in 11 months.
This means both Frampton and Quigg’s titles will be on the line. There will be a 3-city press tour around the UK to help market the fight. The winner of the Frampton-Quigg fight will establish who the best fighter is at 122 in the UK, but definitely not the best fighter worldwide. For that to be established, the winner of this fight is going to need to man up and finally agree to fight Rigondeaux. If they’re fine with never fighting him, then they’ll need to accept that they’re not in his class.
“I’m delighted that we have finally got this fight signed; the fight everyone has wanted for years, none more so than myself,” Frampton said via skysports.com.
Frampton can only speak for himself when he says that this is the fight that everyone wants to see. I’m not excited about the fight. Heck, I’d rather see Frampton and Quigg fight Santa Cruz, Rigondeaux or Donaire than each other. To me, it’s more interesting to see what they do against the talents outside of the UK than against each other. I see Rigondeaux as the best, so why should I care about seeing lesser fighters go at it?
“I’m the legitimate champion and I’m going to his backyard to defend my title because that’s what champions do,” Frampton said about him traveling to fight Quigg in Manchester. “On February 27, the fans will find out who the real champion is. I’m going to win this fight in style.”
FINALLY IT'S ON! Manchester, February 27th. Let's bring an army #FramptonQuigg
— Carl Frampton (@RealCFrampton) November 2, 2015
Frampton should say that the fight will establish who real champion is between the two of them, but not who the REAL champion is at 122. We already know that Rigondeaux is seen as the real champion.
My first though is no one really cares too much whether the fight is a unification bout or not. The fans that are interested in this fight only want to see a good fight. They could care less whether the two fighter’s titles are on the line. The hardcore boxing fans understand that the best fighter in the division is Rigondeaux. The sanctioning bodies can strip him and reassign his status all they want.
The fact is Rigondeaux is seen as the best. Quigg and Frampton are merely fighting it out to try and establish who is below Rigndeaux at maybe the 3rd or 4th best. You can’t say the winner of the Quigg-Frampton fight will definitely be the 2nd best fighter in the 122lb division, because neither guy has fought Nonito Donaire or Leo Santa Cruz.
Until the Quigg vs. Frampton winner faces Donaire and Santa Cruz, you can’t say they’re the No.2 fighter. All you can do is speculate that they’re either the No.3 or No.4 fighter depending on what happens when/if they ever fight Donaire or Santa Cruz. If they never fight those guys, then you have to keep them at the No.3 or 4 spot until Rigondeaux starts showing that he’s no longer the No.1 guy in the division.
“I’ve finally got the fight I’ve wanted for so long,” Quigg said to skysports.com. “February 27 will be the best night of my life.”
Quigg is 27 and Frampton 28. Both guys are roughly the same age, and both of them are easy to hit. Frampton looked terrible in his last fight against Alejandro Gonzalez Jr last July in winning a 12 round decision. Quigg is coming off of a stoppage win over a used up Kiko Martinez. Quigg has a controversial draw against Yoandris Salinas from two years ago. Other than that, Quigg has been matched up carefully during his career. The same with Frampton. It’s impossible to know how good these guys are because neither of them have fought Rigondeaux, Donaire and Santa Cruz, the three best fighters at 122.
In a perfect world. the Quigg vs. Frampton winner will immediately agree to fight Rigondeaux so that they can prove that they’re legit. Unfortunately, I don’t see that happening. I think Quigg and Frampton will face each other again in a rematch, and maybe even go for a trilogy. I see this being about money rather than who the best fighter is in the 122lb division.
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