It's on!

And our hotel is booked! As we hinted last week, Matchroom Sport and Cyclone Promotions have finally got together to make one of the biggest British boxing matches of the last 20 years. The smaller guys don’t always get the headlines their boxing abilities deserve but I feel this is about to change for Scott Quigg and Carl Frampton.

We probably won’t find out just how much they will be compensated but we can safely assume Frampton is in line to make more than the £1.5million quoted in that ridiculous publicity stunt, which was not too dissimilar to a presentation of a giant novelty cheque, earlier in the year. Hearn may still claim that was a genuine, desperate attempt to get the fight made but the nature of such a flat fee offer neglects to consider other factors. What happens in the event of a draw? What happens to the Pay Per View revenue? What about a rematch clause if there is a clash of heads? These questions remained unanswered. There will be likely massive speculation on how the purses are being split which will continue as long as they remain private (I respect the fighters’ right to this but doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like to find out!)

On the other side of negotations I had previously feared Barry McGuigan’s relationship with Sky and Matchroom had deteriorated so much that this would never get made. So while the wait has often been agonising, it will definitely be worth it. This promises to be a classic. Let’s hope what will inevitably be a Sky Box Office spectacle gets a packed undercard to do the main event justice. This could easily be as big as Froch-Groves II for the hardcore fan.

Our predictions will no doubt change many times between now and February 27th but at the moment I lean towards the boy from Belfast. There will be several articles nearer to the time on how exactly we see the fight itself panning out. For now, let’s just rejoice in the fact it has been made and pray for no injuries or delays. Common sense has seemingly prevailed and that isn’t always a common occurrence in boxing.

Image at the head of page via @realmarkgillman via @LiveFight

#Quigg #Frampton #McGuigan #Cyclone #Hearn #Sky #PPV #unification #WBA #IBF #Manchester #Matchroom