Two-city offer is on the table
Tuesday 28 July 2015 06:13, UK
Scott Quigg and Carl Frampton could sign a two-fight deal to meet in Manchester then Belfast if Eddie Hearn’s offer is agreed.
The long-awaited super-bantamweight collision could become a double-header in each fighter’s hometown if Frampton’s representatives return to the negotiating table with Quigg’s Matchroom promoter Hearn.
The Manchester man quickly halted Kiko Martinez last weekend on the same night his Northern Irish rival recovered from two knock-downs to defeat Alejandro Gonzalez Jr, and Hearn now wants to arrange their all-British scrap in two cities.
I’m happy to commit to a two-fight deal – one in November in Manchester, and one in Belfast in the spring or summer. That’s not a problem.
He told Sky Sports: “I’m happy to commit to a two-fight deal – one in November in Manchester, and one in Belfast in the spring or summer. That’s not a problem.
“A double-header could smooth negotiations. That’s always been discussed. We can agree the split in advance.
“If it’s a good fight a rematch will happen anyway. Both guys think they will win the fight and move on. But they’ll probably find that, if the first fight is entertaining which everybody knows it will be, then the biggest money in the division remains a rematch.”
Quigg’s explosive stoppage of Martinez compared to Frampton having to battle back from adversity against Gonzalez Jr hands the Englishman the advantage in negotiations, Hearn believes.
But he has confirmed that Matchroom’s original offer to Frampton’s representative still stands – but if the Ulsterman’s management don’t respond, Quigg has another world champion lined up instead.
“That offer is still on the table, there was no time-frame,” Hearn said. “Some people have told me to reduce the offer after Quigg’s recent performance! But we don’t need to, it was fair before and it’s even fairer now.
“Scott is in a much better position than he previously was following his destruction of Martinez so it’s very difficult for me to revise my offer.
“From my conversations with them, Frampton and his team won’t acknowledge that Scott’s stock has risen considerably. However, if they did, it’s a fight that could happen immediately.
"It’s going to take someone to swallow their pride for this fight to happen. But after last weekend, it’s difficult for that to be Quigg.
“For us, fighting Frampton remains our favourite option but we’re in deep negotiations with Nonito Donaire about a fight in either Dubai or Manchester later this year.”
