Yesterday, BBC Sport reported how the WBA have ordered Carl Frampton to fight Guillermo Rigondeaux by July 27th or face being stripped. As fans know, unbeaten Irishman Frampton added the WBA title to his IBF 122-pound belt with a points win over Scott Quigg this past Saturday. Back in late 2015, Rigondeaux, also unbeaten, was stripped of the WBA (and the WBO) title for inactivity and Quigg, the interim WBA champ, was elevated to full champion.
Now, in the interest of fairness, and in recognising Rigondeaux’s “impressive record and accomplishments,” the WBA say Frampton must give the Cuban his chance. Will Frampton agree or will he say adios to one of the two belts he currently holds? That’s what Rigondeaux wants to know and, as is to be expected as he has been taunting Frampton for some time on Twitter, the 35-year-old boxing master has dared Frampton to take the fight lest he be called a coward.
“Real#boxing fans shouldn’t have love for #fake champs. Vacating a title is the coward way out Are you a coward @RealCFrampton?” Rigondeaux Tweeted just an hour ago.
The ball is now in Frampton’s court. To be fair, Frampton has said recently how the idea of a fight against Rigondeaux does appeal to him and that he is the only super-bantamweight in the world who is capable of beating the avoided southpaw. But Barry McGuigan, Frampton’s manager, said there is “nothing to gain” from a fight with Rigondeaux, and that a fight with featherweight champ Leo Santa Cruz makes far more sense.
But Frampton does now have something to gain by taking a fight with Rigondeaux, or to put it a better way, he has something he can keep by taking a fight with Rigo: the WBA belt he has just won. Will Frampton take the riskiest fight of his career, in so doing winning the respect of the entire boxing world, or will he decide that losing the WBA belt won’t be all that bad, as will still have his IBF title around his waist?
Hopefully, Frampton will announce his decision soon.