Scott Quigg's Trainer Dares Carl Frampton To Fight Toe To Toe

By Edward Chaykovsky

Joe Gallagher, who trains WBA super bantamweight champion Scott Quigg, has dared IBF king Carl Frampton to fight his man in a toe-to-toe fashion when the two fighters collide for their unification at the Manchester Arena on February 27th.

Gallagher believes his fighter is capable of ending the fight early. Quigg (31-0-2, 23KOs) is viewed as the bigger puncher, while Frampton (21-0, 14KOs) is regarded as the better boxer.

Frampton suffered two flash knockdowns in his last fight with Alejandro Gonzalez. Gallagher feels that Gonzalez can catch Frampton, so can his fighter who packs a much bigger punch. 

Gallagher told Sky Sports: "I think Frampton will come with the attitude of: I'm going to get you before you get me. Frampton knows now he can get put over and he's seen Scott is a power-puncher so I wouldn't be surprised if he came out and tried to hurt Quigg early on.

"People forget that Quigg is a very good back-foot fighter as well. Whatever Frampton wants to bring, all Scott's said all along is: Don't run. If you're confident about your chin and your power, stand and fight, because we're confident in our power."

The trainer is promising a power display, but he's also advising the viewing public to expect a variety of tactics to be used against Frampton. Gallagher anticipates Frampton will adapt to Quigg's strategy, so he's training his fighter to quickly adjust as well. 

There's a lot more to see from Scott Quigg. There are four or five different versions. When he spars, one day he can do it on the back foot, the next on the front foot and then go old school," Gallagher said.

"There are so many strings to his bow and we just haven't had the fight where he's had to pull out more than one or two. When he beat Hidenori Otake, he wasn't pleased but I was because it showed he could box on the front foot and the back foot. When people see what Quigg can do, they'll be like 'wow - that kid really is good.' We know there'll be different styles against Frampton. Frampton will switch and we'll have to adapt and apply. Frampton will have to adapt and apply to our changes in style too."