By Terence Dooley
Joe Gallagher has stoked the flames ahead of Saturday night's showdown between Bury's Scott Quigg, who he trains, and Belfast's Carl Frampton by telling Shane McGuigan, Frampton's trainer, to quieten down.
“Shane has been making a fool of himself,” stated Gallagher when speaking to Sheldan Keay of the Manchester Evening News. “He needs to pipe down and crack on with his own work.
“He's tried a few things to rattle us by claiming me and Scott aren't getting on and that we've apparently only been using Stephen Smith and Anthony Crolla as sparring partners in the build-up. I've had phone calls from a lot of respected people in boxing saying that Shane is embarrassing himself with what he's saying.”
He added: “This is a really big fight for Shane and he's not used to it so he's been caught up in all the buzz like a lot of others trainers do. He has been in the sport two minutes. He was just a nutritionist until he found himself in the corner with Carl and now people are saying he's a rising force in boxing. How can a trainer be a rising force? The rising forces in boxing are the likes of Callum Smith and Anthony Joshua, prospects that are coming through.
“There are a lot of other fantastic young trainers out there. Just look at Steve Maylett, another trainer from Manchester that has a world champion in Terry Flanagan. For some reason Shane is wanting to be a pin up boy and it is quite embarrassing to see really.”
Both camps have tried to psych each other out throughout the build-up and during the media spots. Frampton has repeatedly stated that Quigg will not be able to adapt on the night, with Quigg arguing that the Irishman is in for a shock if he genuinely believes that.
With the battle lines set between both fighters and trainers the fight looks likely to live up to the hype that has surrounded since it was announced.
Please send news and views to @Terryboxing.
