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‘We got the tactics wrong’ – Scott Quigg reveals the game plan for Carl Frampton fight

Scott Quigg claims a bad choice of tactics cost him in his mega PPV clash with Carl Frampton.

The Belfast fighter comfortably out pointed the Bury native in Manchester to become a unified world champion back in February of 2016.

The fight came on the back of years of build up and massive hype, but failed to live up to it’s billing.

Frampton has always claimed Quigg’s approach was the reason for a relatively dull bout.

The Joe Gallagher trained fighter was passive for the first half of the fight and Shane McGuigan was happy for his charge to bank those rounds without having to exert any real effort.

Quigg did try and move through the gears in the second half of the 12 round clash, but the Belfast side of what was an eagerly anticipate clash never really looked in trouble.

Speaking to Boxing Social recently, Quigg,who was most recently defeated by Jono Carroll, claimed the tactics employed were wrong and played apart in the fighting being relatively tame and not going his way.

“The fight didn’t go the way I wanted, we got the tactics wrong, also it didn’t help that I got my jaw broke early in the fight.

“It was a shame the fight didn’t live up to what potentially it could have been, but it was great to be involved in the whole occasion,” he says before going into more detail with regard to what the plan was.

“The plan was to frustrate him. He was expecting me to go forward and he was good a countering, picking people off and trying to land heavy.

“The plan was to bring him on and try to play him at his own game. Then after four or five rounds [the plan was to] up the pace because he used to tire and fade really quickly. “

During the clash the former world champion says he felt relatively comfortable, but upon reflection he can see why ‘The Jackal’s’ hand was raised.

“In the first four or five rounds nothing really happened, but it looked like he was bossing the fight because he was on the front foot.

“I didn’t feel like I was getting hit. I didn’t feel under pressure, but obviously when I watched it back he looked like he was in control, he looks busier, so I can totally understand [the scoring]. When I watched it back I actually gave to him by a round or two.

“When I found out after six rounds how Sky had the fight scored [6-0 Frampton] that’s when I start going forward and that’s when the fight changed,” he adds before revealing not being able to train post the fight was more damaging than losing such a high profile clash.

“It was obviously difficult because it was a massive fight and the publicity around it. It was hard, but the thing I found harder was having the jaw broke because I couldn’t train.

“I wanted to be back in the gym to put right what I did wrong. I don’t like using the word depressed because a lot of people suffer from that, but I was. I was eating, I put a load of weight on and that was the hardest. I think I went up to over 12 stone.

Jonny Stapleton

Irish-boxing.com contributor for 15 years and editor for the past decade. Have been covering boxing for over 16 years and writing about sports for a living for over 20 years. Former Assistant Sports editor for the Gazette News Paper Group and former Tallaght Voice Sports Editor. Have had work published in publications around the world when working as a freelance journalist. Also co-founder of Junior Sports Media and Leinster Rugby PRO of the Year winner. email: editoririshboxing@gmail.com

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