If the 6-year Mayweather v Pacquiao saga/fiasco taught us anything, it’s that it requires co-operative and realistic negotiation to ensure the biggest fights out there are made.
So when pictures emerged of WBA super-bantamweight champion Scott Quigg brandishing a £1.5m cheque composed by promoter Eddie Hearn the eyebrow has to be raised.
The carefully planned publicity stunt designed to publically pressure IBF champion Carl Frampton into relinquishing home advantage in a proposed unification bout feels beneath Scott Quigg and was immediately rebuffed by Carl Frampton and Cyclone Promotions.
On the face of things the deal looks an enticing one for the Irishman, who would surely be a fool to pass up such a lavish sum of money for a fight he would be confident of winning. Sadly, for Matchroom and Quigg at least, it will take a bit more than a proclamation of a seven-figure sum to wrestle control of a promotion from an organisation that paid Kiko Martinez £700k to defend his IBF title in Belfast, a bout he subsequently lost.
There can be little doubt that Eddie Hearn is desperate for the fight to be made, although his comments on the matter are difficult to substantiate. We don’t know what proposal’s Cyclone put forward, although Hearn suggested an incapability to come up with the money and a requirement to lean on Sky Sports and Matchroom Promotions to put the fight on.
Of course, these are negotiation tactics and assertions that will go back and forth until any eventual fight is made. The fact of the matter is, we’ll never know the terms that are being proposed either way and whether any accusations are genuine. All we can be certain of is until both parties get around the table and put the fight above TV, home advantage and revenue we will not see the fight.
Cyclone Promotions and their premier fighter took the opportunity to respond to the offer, by reiterating in a public statement that any unification bout will take place as part of a dual promotion, something that goes beyond names on posters and plugs from world renowned ring announcers.
You’ve got to applaud Hearn’s entrepreneurial spirit; he clearly wants the fight, as do all concerned not least of all Quigg, Frampton and the fans. However, what transpired this week has pushed it further away.
Lets just hope a leaf is taken from the Mayweather and Pacquiao book, both parties cool off and realise the fight is the most important thing when all is said and done.
Not in 6 years though.