Frampton-Quigg: A Tale of Three Dressing Rooms?

By Terence Dooley

Both camps had a lot to say during today’s final presser for Saturday’s showdown between IBF super bantamweight titlist Carl Frampton and WBA "super" titleholder Scott Quigg.

A row over who would get the “home” dressing room at the Manchester Arena had erupted earlier in the day and was taken up again by both teams.

“I'm entitled to that dressing room,” stated Frampton when the issue reared its head again. “He wants it. We might lock it and go in to different dressing rooms. He's superstitious, wants that dressing room and it's a sign of weakness. I don't mind what dressing room I'm in.”

“Ok that's solved then,” added Quigg.

“This is principle here,” argued Frampton. “I'm on the left side. Me, not you. I'm coming to Manchester to fight you. I didn't have to. I have loads of options. You only had me.”

Barry McGuigan weighed into the fray by suggesting an alternative, saying: “Nobody's going in that dressing room. It's as simple as that.”

“I've lost the will to live,” was Eddie Hearn’s take on dressing room-gate. “It will be resolved. We have to move on so many different things. Quigg had to move. We all did.”

Before they moved on, Frampton played the Stevie Wonder song Superstitious over the mic to underline his belief that Quigg has been rattled by the late row.

In the midst of all this, both fighters made their cases for the win. “I just feel I'm better than him,” said Frampton. “I'm that little bit better in every department.”

“I had a check weigh-in with the board of control and my weight was fine,” he added, dismissing rumours that he is struggling to make the weight. “I did everything right this time because I knew I had to. I've missed my son taking his first steps, my son and daughter's birthday. I've been away training because of this.”

“Nobody does what I do,” was Quigg’s response. “Since I dropped out of school, I've dedicated my life to the sport. It'll mean everything. Since the age of 15, all I've done is eat, sleep, train. My family live their lives around me. They make things easy. First and foremost I do it for myself because I know what hours I've done over the years. Believe me, I will win this fight. I've put in too much for anybody to stop me.”

Joe Gallagher and Shane McGuigan have been engaged in an ongoing war of words throughout the build-up to this fight. “I remember the press conference when Frampton turned pro, [Gerry] Storey was the main trainer,” argued Gallagher.

“Don't be trying to take other people's plaudits away them. It's well noted, Shane was a nutritionist and was asked to go in the corner. Next thing you see, Storey's out and Shane's in and he's in Carl's corner on Saturday night.”

“I respect Joe as a trainer,” said McGuigan, in response to Gallagher’s claim. “He clearly doesn't respect me but hopefully after the fight he will respect me. He said the last time Dad was in Manchester, he was beaten [L TKO 4 against Jim McDonnell at the G-Mex Centre in 1989] and Carl would be the same. That's his opinion and that's fine. You're only as good as your fighters and I'm lucky to have a fighter like Carl Frampton to showcase himself as a fighter and myself as a coach.”

When asked about the magnitude of the fight, Hearn claimed that it is bigger than Carl Froch’s rematch with George Groves at Wembley Stadium. He said: “This is special.

“People ask me if it was bigger than Froch-Groves two and I say yes. On a global scale. Showtime Sports are transmitting the fight live. There has never been and will never be two paydays like this from the super-bantamweight division. One of the pleasing things is that two smaller men get to see the money of this magnitude."

In a rare moment of agreement, Barry McGuigan echoed the sentiment. “It's a huge fight,” he said. “There's never been a fight of this magnitude with Super bantamweights in Europe. It's very difficult to compare with Mexican and American fights, but it's got the air of Morales-Barrera to it.”

If the fight is half as good as Morales-Barrera and as fiery as the build-up fans on both sides of the Atlantic could be treated to a classic on Saturday night with a rematch on the cards if it is a close one.

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