LEE Selby is the ‘A card’ now, not Carl Frampton, says the Welsh IBF king’s coach and manager Chris Sanigar.
Responding to claims by Barry McGuigan that Frampton would be the “big draw” in a possible future clash with Selby, Sanigar countered: “That’s nonsense.
“Lee Selby is the A card in this fight.”
McGuigan doesn’t see it like that and, after intimating that Frampton was prepared to travel across The Irish Sea to fight with venues from Glasgow to Cardiff mentioned, he claimed: “I don’t want to be rude to Lee Selby, but he doesn’t sell tickets.
“Carl will bring the crowd, just like we did with Quigg. We’ll bring the crowd to wherever it has to be but the arena has to be big enough to stage it.”
Selby certainly hasn’t had the support Frampton enjoys, but Sanigar dismissed McGuigan’s claim.
“Lee is the champion, the undefeated champion and he’s defended the title three times,” he said.
“They’re the ones that went out and got beat.
“Barry can see it however he likes to see it, but we’re the champions, our man is the champion.”
The Bristol-based coach and manager described last Friday’s events as “very odd” but dismissed any suggestions of a conspiracy.
“It was very odd, wasn’t it,” he said
“Carl being a pound over and then the other guy falling over in the shower…
“But there’s no conspiracy, no way. It’s a genuine accident in my eyes.
“I’ve never heard anything like that before but I’ve had two lots of fights cancelled. There was Lee Haskins at the MGM when the guy (Randy Cabellero) was over-weight and then Selby when Johnny Barros wasn’t fit to fight in January.
“I’m sure it’s a hurdle they can get over. We had to put up with the disappointment of Barros pulling out of the fight in Las Vegas, but we got over it.
“I don’t know what the situation with Frampton is. Are they going to reschedule the Guttierez fight? Looking at his chin, with that cut he’ll be out for a while. Are they going to box him again – there are people who have bought at those tickets for the show… It’s an absolute nightmare.”
He added: “I don’t know about Carl’s weight issues because I don’t see him every day in the gym. To give an opinion you need to be someone who sees him day-to-day in the gym, anything else is just speculation.
“But I was as shocked as anybody when I heard he never made the weight. He was a super-bantam! He’s not the tallest of guys, but he is very thick-set.
“The problem is that there aren’t any really big names at super-featherweight, except Lomachenko of course. I don’t think he’s someone they would look to fight.”
Sanigar explained that he is awaiting input from US-based promotions mogul Haymon on a future opponent for Selby with Frampton, Leo Santa Cruz and Abner Mares all possible options.
“We’ve had the mandatory and we’re now free to do as we please,” he said.
“We’re waiting on Al Haymon (US-based promoter) on his opinion, his suggestions on who we’re to box. That’s basically it, but with Lee Selby we do want to get out very soon.
“It’s possible for September/October if we get the call, but we’ve never had the call.
“If we get the call we will consider it and sit down with them.
“We’ve never negotiated at all before now.
“We’ve got the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff which is a massive stadium. I’m not sure what crowd we would get for Selby-Frampton but the venue is there and it’s a possibility and there’s the O2 in London.”
BACK in June, after Paddy Barnes had won the WBO European flyweight title, Carl Frampton came to the dressingrooms at the Waterfront Hall to congratulate his close friend.
Fans, fighters and media all milled around in the tight confines and it was close to midnight when Frampton said matter-of-factly: “God, I’m starving. All I had to eat the day was two chicken breasts”.
That was three days after the Andres Guttierez fight was announced and, seven weeks before he was due to rumble he certainly wasn’t living it up.
But something between then and last Friday’s weigh-in and, after Frampton failed to make the weight, the question now is: What’s next for Carl Frampton?
He admits he had a “horrible 48 hours” and as the dust settles on the events of the weekend - his failure to make weight for the first time in his career and the injury to Guttierez that saw his Saturday night’s comeback fight cancelled - ‘the Jackal’ has some thinking to do about his future.
On a calamitous Friday, Frampton weighed in a pound over the nine-stone featherweight limit and later that evening Mexican Guttierez a tripped in his hotel bathroom, collided with a tap and then fell backwards, sustaining injuries to his chin, nose and mouth. He was also concussed and was taken to the Kingsbridge private hospital in Belfast for treatment.
A fighter can’t box for 28 days after concussion and the deep gashes on his chin and nose could rule him out of sparring for up to eight weeks.
If the fight is rescheduled Frampton – who hasn’t fought since January 28 when he lost his featherweight title to Leo Santa Cruz in Las Vegas – may have to wait until late August to face him. Now 30, Frampton is anxious to kick on with his career and, although there has been talk of ‘the Jackal’ moving up to super-featherweight, the obvious next target for him is Welsh IBF champion Lee Selby.
“It's been a horrible 48 hours for me,” said Frampton who resigned as a director of Cyclone Promotions on July 21, just eight days before the scheduled fight.
“Now all I want to do is repay the fans by winning a world title and then come back as quickly as possible to defend it in Belfast.
“I was angry with myself for not making the nine-stone limit on Friday for the fight, but I still felt strong and ready to go and put in a performance. But then Andres Gutierrez had that freakish fall as he was trying to get into the shower and when the fight had to be called off I was just stunned.”
Saturday’s fight had been billed as a WBC featherweight-title eliminator. The WBC belt is currently held by Gary Russell jnr but Frampton side-stepped a question at last week’s press conference on whether he viewed the fast-handed American as a future opponent by arguing that it was “disrespectful” to Guttierez to talk about other fighters.
His failure to make the weight meant he had no option to fight Russell anyway and Barry McGuigan admitted he had to share in the blame for the Jackal’s failure to hit the scales at nine-stone.
“We both hold our hands up,” said McGuigan.
“We're as responsible as him, he left the weight-making too late, and he tried very hard to make the weight.
“He couldn't do it, he just got to within a pound of the weight, his opponent agreed to fight him at a pound heavier.
“He was devastated and felt he was unprofessional he didn't make the weight but he was raring to go because he'd been away for two-and a-half years, he wanted this fight, he was delighted that his opponent accepted him a pound over.”
What’s next for Carl Frampton?
Andres Guttierez II
The Mexican was concussed and suffered facial injuries after his bathroom slip meaning he could be out of action for up to eight weeks. Frampton was originally due to meet him in a WBC title eliminator but expressed no interest in going on to meet WBC champion Gary Russell jnr.
Cyclone Promotions have said they will try to reschedule, but that might not be possible until September at the earliest.
A spokesperson for Cyclone and the SSE Arena said: “For anyone wishing to arrange a refund, further details will be released early next week.
“We appreciate the patience of all ticket holders who can retain their tickets pending confirmation of a rescheduled fight.”
Super-featherweight.
Frampton’s failure to make the nine-stone featherweight limit could pave the way for a step up to 9st 4lbs.
The big dogs at super-featherweight are Floyd Mayweather protégé Gervonta Davis (IBF) and Ukranian super-star Vasyl Lomachenko. Is Frampton naturally big enough to have success at super-feather?
Frampton v Lee Selby
WHO needs this more? Frampton or Selby? This domestic dust-up was rumoured to be in the mix for this summer but Welsh IBF king Selby was tied into a mandatory defence against Johnny Barros which he since won comfortably.
Selby tweeted yesterday that his “diary’s free” when a fan asked if he was interested in a trip to ‘The Jackal’s Den’. This seems like the natural next step for both and Frampton has consistently said that he wants the fight. Selby is a rangy, awkward customer who will also fancy his chances if the fight is made.
Frampton v Leo Santa Cruz III
THE rivalry between Frampton and Santa Cruz stands at one win each at present and a third instalment would be eagerly anticipated by the fight fans that travelled to New York and Las Vegas for the first two duels in large numbers.
But if the California-based Mexican can be enticed to Belfast, it won’t be until next summer.
Retirement
Frampton struggled to come to terms with the first loss of his career in January and had the longest lay-off of his career between it and the scheduled Guttierez fight that then fell through.
His decision to resign as a director of Cyclone Promotions has led to rumours that his relationship with his current handlers has deteriorated but, at 30, Frampton still has up to three years and perhaps four title fights comfortably in him and retirement doesn’t look like a serious option.
