The much sought after 122 lb UK unification clash between IBF boss Carl Frampton and WBA (reg) titlist, Scott Quigg is closer than ever before according to both parties, although it’s still far from a done deal yet.
The ongoing, back and forth saga, has seen numerous shifts toward hot and cold, on and off, with Hearn previously offering a flat £1.5 million offer that was rejected by team Frampton when the financial minutiae – including PPV revenue – was scrutinzed, potentially leaving Frampton worse off than Quigg, who is only a 2nd tier belt holder.
Since that time and in light of the recent results for both, that saw Quigg destroy former Frampton foe Kiko Martinez in Manchester on the same night ‘The Jackal’ had a relatively inauspicious US debut on the PBC platform, there have been dual-city, two fight proposals, as well as an alleged public “climb-down” from Hearn and Quigg regarding the number-crunching, although there are still some notable sticking points.
“I had a meeting yesterday with the McGuigans and we are solving problems,” Hearn told Sky Sports.
“I would say if we’re going round a horse track, we’ve probably gone over 60 per cent of the hurdles. We’re not down the home straight, but we are approaching it. There are still some big jumps on the home straight.
It was a sentiment shared by Frampton and trainer Shane McGuigan, who spoke to iFLtv about the situation, although the IBF champion – who is the one holding a bone fide world title – expressed distaste at the way his former promoter has chosen to [publicly] conduct business.
“We’re kinda the opposite to what Eddie does and we don’t like to broadcast everything,” Frampton said to iFLtv regarding the aforementioned talks. “Negotiating and deals should be done in private and that’s the way we want to keep it,” he added. “But the fight is closer to being made.”
It would seem that one of the hurdles being mentioned by Hearn is the issue of where the fight will happen, with the fanatically supported Frampton’s Belfast backyard more than a formidable and hostile environment for the challenger, whose support is based in Manchester and the North West of England.
“I’d prefer a neutral venue to be honest with you,” Frampton continued. “When you sit down and think about it I’m still the champion and I shouldn’t really have to travel to Quigg’s backyard to fight him.”
“A neutral venue is one of the things we want as he’s not gonna fight me in Belfast, and to be honest I knew that. A neutral venue, I think, is fair.”
“He [Quigg] wants it in Manchester so all the old Ricky Hatton fans can come out of the woodwork and support him,” Shane McGuigan added. ” A fight of this magnitude should be in a neutral venue and not in either one’s backyard,” he added.
The final – and perhaps obvious issue – is the notion of who is the real champion, and of that there is no debate. The answer is Frampton and the IBF have confirmed that they will not recognise the fight as a unification should it go ahead, given Quigg’s second tier WBA belt – thus making him the challenger to Frampton only and not another world champion – technically, at least.
“When you look at it like that I’m entitled to [the customary] 75% of the purse, “Frampton said again hinting at the financial problems that are being encountered. “We’re being fair, we know what we want and we’ve been very generous to them,” he added. “I think they’re starting to understand that now.”
“I have other options to make a lot of money but I really want this fight.”
As a side note, Nonito Donaire, who was set to fight Scott Quigg, wrote the following on social media tonight [Thurs] suggesting that this fight is indeed closer.
“I want to apologise to my UK fans. I really did try to make the Quigg fight. I agreed to all the terms but when it came down to it Quigg and his team decided not to sign after months of negotiations. One day, hopefully, I’ll fight on UK soil.”
Twitter @Undilutedpoison
