By Shaun Brown
Matchroom Boxing promoter, Eddie Hearn is hopeful that a Scott Quigg vs. Carl Frampton super bantamweight unification fight could go ahead this December in Manchester with a rematch happening outdoors next summer in Belfast.
Speaking to Boxing Scene last week, Hearn sounded cautiously optimistic that one of the hottest tickets in the 122 lb division could at last be nearing a reality.
“After speaking to the McGuigans (who represent Frampton), hopefully Frampton can beat Kiko Martinez, and Quigg can defend in September and then get it on just before the end of the year. There’s huge appetite on both sides for the fight but Frampton’s gotta beat Martinez on Sept 6 which we think and hope he will. And Scott Quigg’s got to beat Leo Santa Cruz or whoever is put in front of him. We’re trying to make this Leo Santa Cruz fight for Quigg, which we’re more than happy to be in America, but we don’t seem to be making much movement with Golden Boy.”
The will they-wont they saga featuring Manchester’s Quigg and Belfast’s Frampton has been a long winded one. Yet after offers here, offers there and various media stories it appears there might be some light at the end of the tunnel. Hearn put some of his cards on the table when he discussed the proposed two-fight series.
“My idea would be, because the fight is so big, to do the first fight in Manchester in December with two world titles on the line. We’ll do a two-fight deal with the rematch happening in Belfast outdoors in the summer (of 2015) regardless of the result in the first fight. If Frampton wins a world title this could be a Sky Box-Office PPV fight or if it’s a great fight, the first one, the second one could be. The earning potential for both men is huge. That’s why I think it’s better to make a two-fight deal. A 50-50 split if Frampton’s got his belt for the first one and then it’s a bigger split for the champion in the second fight. It’s quite straightforward.”
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