BRITISH super-bantamweight champion Scott Quigg is gearing himself up for a clash with emerging Irish star Carl Frampton.
Quigg, 23, retained his title by stopping Welsh veteran Jamie Arthur in Bolton on Saturday night (February 4) and remains on course for a mouth-watering clash against the Barry McGuigan managed Commonwealth king.
Bury’s Quigg came through a tricky first defence forcing ref Mark Green to stop the contest when the challenger turned away after being hurt by a left hook in round eight.
After his 24th straight win, Quigg who is ranked third in the world by the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Association (WBA) was anxious to look forward, and Frampton tops the hit list.
It’s the fight everyone wants to see so we need to sit down and discuss it,” Quigg said.
“He’s got another fight coming up in March and if he wins and I keep winning, then we’re going to meet.
“The fights building up so what’s the point of it being for the just the British and Commonwealth titles? It could be for a bigger title like the European as well for money.
“When it happens it should be in a big arena so we can build it up by him going his way and me going mine, but if the fight happens next then that’s fine by me because I know I’ll win.”
He added: “I’ll fight him wherever. I’ll go to Ireland as easily as he’ll fight me over here. I respect him and I’m sure he respects me and when we get it on it’s just about proving who’s the best.”
Quigg suffered a shock fourth round knockdown against Arthur, but quickly took control against the former Commonwealth champion, although some ringsiders believed the stoppage was slightly premature.
“Everything went to plan except for me getting caught with a daft shot,” Quigg added.
“I wasn’t hurt, though, I just got caught square on and went over but it was more embarrassing then anything. When I got up my head was clear. He threw the kitchen sink at me after that and I don’t think one shot landed.”
Quigg also feels that despite the end of the action coming with Arthur still on his feet, a knockout was inevitable if the fight would have been allowed to continue.
He said: “It’s up to the ref to decide when to stop it and he couldn’t give him a count because he was still on his feet, but he turned his back and you could tell he was in pain.
“I was getting to him and catching him with some big shots and it was only a matter of time before I finished it.
“If he thinks he didn’t get a fair chance and he wants a rematch then I’ll gladly give it to him.”
In the chief support, 2008 Olympian “Genius” Joe Murray notch up his twelfth pro win with a clear cut eight round points (80 – 72) win over Jose Luis Graterol.
Other results: Stephen Foster Jnr bt Yauheni Kruhlik Pts, Matty Askin bt Attila Palko TKO 2, Rendall Munroe bt Jose Saez TKO 1, James Dickens bt Barrington Brown pts, Craig Lyon bt Yuri Voronin pts, Tasif Khan bt Delroy Spencer pts.
IABA UPDATE (IRISH SQUAD FOR FINAL OLYMPIC QUALIFIER RATIFIED)
IRISH AMATEUR BOXING ASSOCIATION
The Irish Amateur Boxing Association have ratified their seven-man squad for the final Olympic qualifier for European male boxers in Trabzon, Turkey in April.
Paddy Barnes, Michael McDonagh, Ross Hickey, Adam Nolan, Joe Ward, Tommy McCarthy and Con Sheehan will line out for Ireland by the banks of the Black Sea.
All seven retained their titles at the National Elite Championships at Dublin’s National Stadium last Friday night.
Ward beat Ken Egan 29-10 and also scooped the boxer of the Championships award.
Michael Conlan, John Joe Nevin and Darren O’Neill, who also retained their Irish titles at the weekend, have already qualified for the Olympics.
The London-bound trio will take part in Ireland’s intensive preparations for the Turkish qualifiers.
The squad will begin an 8-day training camp in the Curragh on Thursday before heading to Germany for a second training camp and a final training camp in the Ukraine.
The Irish team will also compete in the Chemistry Cup Multi Nations which gloves off in Halle, Germany on March 13.
“We have a very difficult task ahead of us to get some more lads qualified. We’ll start knuckling down to that task and begin the hard work at our training camp in the Curragh this week,” said Irish head coach Billy Walsh.
“As ever in international championships and tournaments, the draw is the key. We might get a bye in a division or two or get a fight that we know we can win and it is important to get off to a good start. The draw is vital, both in Turkey and when we go to the actual Games.”
The final Olympic qualifier for European male boxers will take place in Trabzon between April 13th and 22nd.
The 2012 AIBA World Women’s Championships in China in May – where Katie Taylor will be aiming for her fourth gold medal in-a-row – will act as the only Olympic qualifier for female boxers.
Irish Squad for final Olympic qualifier
49Kg: (Light-flyweight) Paddy Barnes (Holy Family GG)
60Kg: (Lightweight) Michael McDonagh (St Mary’s)
64Kg: (Light-welterweight) Ross Hickey (Grangecon)
69Kg: (Welterweight) Adam Nolan (Bray)
81Kg: (Light-heavyweight) Joe Ward (Moate)
91Kg: (Heavyweight) Tommy McCarthy (Oliver Plunkett)
91+Kg: (Super-heavyweight) Con Sheehan (Clonmel)
Olympic quotas (in brackets) remaining at final Olympic qualifier for European boxers in Trabzon, Turkey.
49Kg: Light-flyweight (4) (Semi-finalists will qualify)
52Kg: Flyweight (3) (Michael Conlan has qualified in this weight category)
56Kg: Bantamweight (4) (John Joe Nevin has qualified in this weight category)
60Kg: Lightweight (4) (Semi-finalists will qualify)
64Kg: Light-welterweight (1) (Gold medalist will qualify)
69Kg: Welterweight (2) (Finalists will qualify)
75Kg: Middleweight (2) (Darren O’Neill has qualified in this weight category)
81Kg: Light-heavyweight (3) (Finalists will qualify, plus whoever loses to the eventual gold medalist in the semi-finals)
91Kg: Heavyweight (1) (Gold medalist will qualify)
91+Kg: Super -heavyweight (2) (Finalists will qualify)
Moscow Dynamo shutout Los Angeles Matadors Next ‘World Series of Boxing’ PPV Feb. 17
HOBOKEN (February 6, 2012) – Host team Moscow Dynamo shutout and visiting Los Angeles Matadors last Friday night in Russia, 5-0, to move into a three-way tie with Dolce & Gabbana Milano Thunder and Astana Arlans, all sporting 6-2 records and 19 points, on top of Group A in the innovative World Series of Boxing (“WSB”).
The Moscow vs. Los Angeles, distributed in the United States by Integrated Sports Media, replaced an originally scheduled Mexico City vs. Beijing match that was cancelled due to visa problems for members of the Chinese team.
The next WSB PPV will air Friday night, February 17, pitting host Mexico City Guerreros against unbeaten Group B leader Baku Fires, and also distributed by the undisputed King of combat sports PPV – Integrated Sports Media – for live viewing at 10:00 PM/ET – 7:00 PM/PT on satellite pay-per-view via DirecTV, DISH Network, iN DEMAND and Avail-TVN, for a suggested retail price of only $24.95. Mexico City vs. Baku will again be available via on-line PPV on Ustream.tv at http://www.ustream.tv/integratedsportsppv.
The WSB features amateur boxing competition, on a team basis, without boxers wearing headgear or vests. There is professional-style scoring, three judges, one referee and one supervisor. WSB matches consist of five bouts – bantamweight (120 lbs.), lightweight (135 lbs.), middleweight (160 lbs.), light heavyweight (185 lbs.) and heavyweight (200 and up lbs.) — with five, three-minute rounds. The team with the most wins from the five bouts wins the match.
Below find results of last Friday’s match between Moscow and Los Angeles:
MOSCOW 5, LOS ANGELES 0
Moscow Dynamos (6-2) Divisions L.A. Matadors (3-5)
Anvar Yunusov WPTS (50-45 X 3) Bantamweight Figurenka Ivan
Adlan Abdurashicov WKO3 Lightweight Mirtilek Sherov
Aleksandr Ivanov WKO3 Middleweight Gamadarov Kazbek
Eduard Yakushev WKO3 Light Heavyweight Mikhail Kationov
Maxim Babanin WPTS (50-45, 49-46, 48-47) Heavyweight Sudzilouski Yan
The invading Baku Fires (8-0, 21 points) are led by the reigning World Amateur Heavyweight Champion Magomedrasul Medzhodov (6-1, 1 KP, 5 WP), along with 2008 European Champion Mahamed Nurud (Belarusian middleweight), 2010 Azerbaijan National Champion Magomed Abdulhamidov (bantamweight), 2010 President’s Cup Gold Medalist Semen Grigachev (Azerbaijan lightweight) and 2007 Azerbaijan National Champion Ramazan Magomedau (light heavyweight).
Mexico City (4-3, 13 points), tied in second place in Group B with the Leipzig Leopards, is battling for one of four playoff slots. Mexico City’s deep squad features a wealth of talented boxers to choose from in 2011 Mexican National Olympiad Gold Medalist Elias Emigdio (bantamweight), a pair of 2011 Mexican National Champions, heavyweight Juan Horacheta Martinez and bantamweight Aaron Almeda Lopez, as well as 2010 European Middleweight Champion Mladen Manev (Bulgaria), 2007 Asian Youth Championships Gold Medalist (lightweight) Hurshid Tojibaev (Uzebekistan) and Croatian National Light Heavyweight Champion Bojan Miskovic.
For more information about the World Series of Boxing PPV events go to www.integratedsportsnet.com. Follow Integrated Sports Media on Twitter @IntegratedPPV.