Carl Frampton vs Scott Quigg: Your one-stop preview of the world title unification bout
Saturday 27 February 2016 22:30, UK
Your one-stop preview of the world super-bantamweight title unification clash between Carl Frampton and Scott Quigg...
Background
Five years in the making, unbeaten super-bantamweights Frampton and Quigg finally collide in the ring in Manchester on Saturday night - live on Sky Sports Box Office. Frampton brings the IBF title to the table and Quigg risks his WBA belt.
The two have expressed respect for each other in the past but as fight night nears, tempers are fraying. There was the fractious face-off at the Manchester leg of the media tour, then the changing room row and the brief tussle at the final press conference and finally trainers Shane McGuigan and Joe Gallagher clashing at the weigh-in.
Those events will soon be rendered pretty irrelevant, though, when the opening bell cuts the engine of the hype machine and the pair get down to business. The bookies have Frampton a slight favourite, but the phrase 'genuine 50-50' has seldom been used as much as in the build-up to a fight...
What the fighters say
What the trainers say
What the stablemates say
Quigg is very good, strong and has great punch output but I don't believe this fight is about fitness or power - it's about technique and who can adapt on the night. That falls with Frampton.
What other fighters say
It's a tough fight to call, that's for sure. It certainly isn't a 70-30 or even a 60-40 fight, this is a proper 50-50. I'll be honest and tell you I don't know too much about Frampton but I do know Scott trains hard and is very, very resilient.
I think Frampton is rattled and Quigg seems really on it, down to weight and sharp. It looks like he's done everything perfectly. The closer it's getting to the fight, the more I think it's 50-50.
Every day I seem to be changing but it is a genuine 50-50 and it's difficult to say because I like both of them. But if I have to go to my gut instinct - which is the only thing that separates them - and that was Frampton by the start.
What the experts say
I am struggling to split them on most fronts. You’ve got Joe Gallagher who’s had success at world level with several fighters but you’ve got Shane McGuigan in the other corner, and Frampton is unbeaten for a reason.
It might get nasty and we might see knockdowns but I don’t see it finishing inside the distance. Both fighters think they’re going to win.
I will start by saying I am a big Carl Frampton fan and he is a fantastic fighter but having seen Scott day-in, day-out, I know just how good he is. And he will show he is bigger, stronger and more focused than ever. I think Quigg wins this and wins this well... inside three rounds.
The weigh-in
The time draws near...
Carl Frampton vs Scott Quigg, exclusively live on Sky Sports Box Office on February 27, is available to order via Sky remote and online
