Boxing Preview: Carl Frampton Vs Scott Quigg

On Saturday 27th February, one of the biggest boxing fights of the year will take place at the Manchester Arena as WBA Super Bantamweight world champion Scott Quigg takes on the IBF Super Bantamweight champion Carl Frampton, in an eagerly awaited and mouth-watering clash between the best two men in the division.

888Sport are offering 13/25 (1.52) favouritism for Belfast man Carl Frampton, while their price Manchester born Quigg as the slight outsider at odds of 6/4 (2.5). Bear in mind that if you are new to 888Sport, you can take up their “treble the odds” deal about either fighter as your sign up offer here. At the current prices however, maybe Scott Quigg is the value bet given how the this match-up has played out in recent months.

After Carl Frampton’s two title bouts against former champion Kiko Martinez, the Irishman would have been a wide margin favourite for this fight had it happened a couple of years ago. But since then, Frampton was dropped to the canvas twice by little known Mexican Alejandro Gonzalez last July. He came through with a points win, but it sent alarm bells ringing through the Frampton camp and changed Barry McGuigan’s mind about hoping to take on American soil with his fighter.

On the same night Frampton was fighting the Mexican in Texas, Scott Quigg absolutely destroyed Kiko Martinez with a devastating stoppage shortly after one minute into the second round. Now the tables have turned and this fight has been signed and agreed through Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom promotion and Sky Sports; taking all of that control away from Frampton and the McGuigan camp. If Frampton can win this fight, none of it will matter. But the bout will take place in Scott Quigg’s backyard and in all the pre-fight talk, he seems to be the one carrying all of the confidence and self-belief going into this.

There is no denying the ability and class of Carl Frampton. How he responds to those knock-downs, responds to the training camp issues in what will be by far the toughest fight of his career, will go a long way in defining Carl Frampton’s boxing career. Scott Quigg though has continued to improve and grow in both skill-set and stature as a fighter. His mind seems to be in the right place ahead of this unification title bout and considering he is the marginal outsider and is fighting in his hometown of Manchester, he gets the vote at 6/4 with 888Sport.