Scott Quigg
Scott Quigg is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2007 to 2020. He held the World Boxing Association super-bantamweight title from 2013 to 2016, and the British super-bantamweight title from 2011 to 2012.
Early life
Quigg started his fight career as a child practising Muay Thai boxing at GFC Muay Thai in Bury. After receiving a lot of attention and being tipped as a future champion in the sport, Quigg had one adult fight at professional rules in Muay Thai scoring a win, before taking the decision to change disciplines and focus his talents towards amateur boxing.Professional career
Super-bantamweight
Early career
Quigg's professional debut came at the age of 18 on 21 April 2007 with a victory over Gary Shiel at the Jarvis Hotel in Manchester. Throughout the rest of the year he won on four more occasions giving him a record of 5–0 at the end of 2007. Quigg fought six more times in 2008, winning on each occasion, a run that included a victory over Ghana's tough journeyman Sumaila Badu in just the first round of a four-round contest. Watching the contest Boxing News reporter Danny Flexen claimed that after watching over 50 live shows he had "never seen a more complete prospect " with less than 10 fights under his belt.Quigg remained unbeaten with a further five victories on Hatton Promotions bills in 2009. In his last fight of the year on 27 November Quigg met and stopped the former Ukrainian national champion and former European title challenger Yuriy Voronin in the sixth round of an 8-round fight at the Robin Park Centre in Wigan.
In 2010 Quigg defeated journeyman Nikita Lukin in Stoke on 19 February and then went on to meet Andrey Kostin in his home town of Bury on 29 May. The victory over Kostin was particularly notable in that it was the first time a professional contest had been held in the town since the local council banned the sport 13 years previously, lifting the ban only so that Quigg could compete in his home town. The ban was from 1997 after Mike Tyson bit Evander Hoyfield's ear in the rematch. The fight was also notable for Quigg's ring walk. Before his entrance, the fans in attendance were directed towards the big screen, which was a live feed recording outside Quigg's mother's house, where Quigg was staying at the time. He then came out of the house and began the walk to the Castle Sports Centre, which was 'around the corner'. Quigg's homecoming didn't last too long as he triumphed with a stoppage over his Russian opponent in just one round and in front of 1200 fans saying after the fight that "this was one of the best days of my life".
Quigg fought a British title eliminator against tough Scotsman Gavin Reid in his next fight on 16 July 2010. The fight at the Bolton Arena resulted in a 9th round stoppage win for Quigg against a man who had previously gone the distance in a challenge for the Scottish national title.
Regional and domestic success
On 25 September 2010 Quigg returned to the Castle Leisure Centre in Bury to compete for the WBA Inter-Continental title against Argentinian boxer Santiago Allione stopping him in the third round. He defended his title on 26 November 2010 at the Reebok Stadium in Bolton on the undercard of Matthew Hatton's European title defence against Roberto Belge. His opponent, the experienced Frenchman Daniel Kodjo Sassou had won the IBF International title in his last fight against Arsen Martirosyan. Quigg managed to put Sassou down in the 7th round before running out a unanimous points winner over 12 rounds.Quigg defeated Venezuela's Franklin Varela via a 7th round stoppage in his second defence on 23 July 2011, and was ranked fourth in the WBA.
On 22 October 2011 Quigg defeated Jason Booth to win the British Super-Bantamweight title at the Castle Leisure Centre in Bury. After a one-sided contest Booth retired at the end of the seventh round.
On 4 February 2012, Quigg made the first defence of his title, beating the rugged veteran Jamie Arthur in an eighth-round stoppage, despite being put on the canvas in the fourth.
Quigg vs. Munroe I, ll
On 16 June 2012 at the Velodrome in Manchester, Quigg faced rival English Super-Bantamweight Rendall Munroe for the Interim WBA Super-Bantamweight Title. Munroe was badly cut over the right eye from an accidental head clash in the third round. With the fight having to be stopped, it went to the scorecards resulting in a Technical Draw with neither man getting a win or a loss on their record, bringing a very big domestic clash to an extremely anticlimactic ending.The rematch of this highly waited showdown against Rendall Munroe was made for the undercard of Ricky Hatton's comeback fight at the Manchester Arena on 24 November, the fight took place at a venue which had sold out within six hours of tickets being released. Munroe came out strong in the first, winning it clearly with fast punches and a higher work rate. After the first, however, Quigg upped it and was landing hard to the body with both rights and lefts round after round. By the sixth Munroe was surely feeling it and it showed as he went down twice. The second time the fight was stopped with no complaints from Munroe. After this fight Quigg was promoted to WBA Regular Champion.
Quigg fought at the Bolton Arena on 29 June 2013 against Brazilian Willian Prado at Featherweight in a scheduled 10 round bout. Quigg won the fight in round 3 after 2 minutes and 31 seconds by knockout.
Quigg vs. Salinas, Silva
It was announced on 17 July that Quigg would fight undefeated Cuban Yoandris Salinas for the WBA super-bantamweight title. The fight took place at the O2 Arena in London on 5 October 2013. Salinas started strongly, however Quigg stepped up his tempo midway through the bout and took control, giving Salinas a torrid finish to the fight. The fight went full 12 rounds as the scorecards declared it a majority draw. Two of the judges had it 114–114 and the other awarded it to Quigg 115–113. Quigg told Sky Sports that he felt he won the fight by at least 2 rounds.On 7 November it was announced that Quigg would defend his title against #13 WBO fringe contender Diego Silva on 23 November on the undercard of Carl Froch vs. George Groves at the Phones 4U Arena in Manchester, UK. Quigg told Sky Sports "He is a big threat. He is a totally different style to Yoandris Salinas. He is very unorthodox, which means you can't read him. He doesn't know what he is going to do next." Many believed this he was a downgrade opponent for Quigg. On fight night, Quigg swiftly defended his WBA title against Silva with a second-round knockout. Quigg floored Silva with a thumping right upper cut and sealed it with a right hook. He needed only one minute and 41 seconds of the second round to complete victory and extend his unbeaten professional record to 27 wins in 29 bouts with his 20th knockout.
Quigg vs. Munyai, Jamoye
Quigg returned to the Phones 4U Arena on 19 April 2014 to defend his world title against South African Tshifhiwa Munyai. Quigg had been due to take on interim WBA champion Nehomar Cermeno, but he had to withdraw because of visa problems. Quigg successfully defended his title for the third time with a second-round stoppage of Munyai. Munyai was knocked down with a left hook in the first round before Quigg struck with a right in the second. Quigg showed destructive power to twice floor Munyai before referee Howard Foster intervened with Munyai on the ropes.On 26 August it was announced that Quigg will be making the fourth defence of his title at the Phones 4u Arena on 13 September against former world title challenger Stephane Jamoye. The packed undercard courtesy of Matchroom Boxing included Manchester lightweight Anthony Crolla and Olympic super-heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. Quigg seemed to size up Jamoye and waited until the closing minutes before unleashing crunching body shots that sent Jamoye into reverse. In round 3, three stiff punches forced Jamoye to retreat to the ropes and a huge body shot then sent him to the canvas, although Jamoye got back to his feet, referee Terry O'Connor stopped the fight. With this win Quigg was still on course for a super-bantamweight showdown with Carl Frampton, who took the IBF belt from Kiko Martinez the weekend earlier. Quigg also called out WBC champion Leo Santa Cruz.
Quigg vs. Otake, Martínez
Quigg made his fifth title defence against Hidenori Othake at the sold out Echo Arena in Liverpool on the undercard of Cleverly v Bellew II on 22 November 2014 live on Sky Sports Box Office. Otake was looking make history, bidding to become the first Japanese boxer to win a world title in the UK. This would only be the second time in boxing history that a Japanese boxer has come to England to challenge for the World title, the first was Mitsunori Seki, who was stopped in nine rounds by Howard Winstone in 1968 for the vacant WBC featherweight crown. Despite sustaining a large cut to the right eyebrow, Otake was able to take the bout to the full 12 rounds. The judges scored it all in favour of Quigg.It was announced that Quigg would be making a sixth defence of his WBA Regular title by taking on experienced Spaniard Kiko Martinez on 18 July at the Manchester Arena. Martinez had recently lost the IBF crown to Frampton last September. Quigg struggled in the first round but floored Martinez in the second with a fierce uppercut and followed up with a further barrage until referee Terry O'Connor intervened, retaining his world title in the process.
Quigg vs. Frampton
On 27 October 2015, the long-awaited fight between Quigg and IBF super-bantamweight champion Carl Frampton was being discussed according to both sides. The bout would be the biggest British fight since Froch vs. Groves in 2014. According to multiple sources a few days later, a deal was finalised and a date in early 2016 was talked about. Although the promoters said the fight was a super-bantamweight unification, it was not officially sanctioned as one. This was due to Quigg holding the WBA title. Cuban boxer Guillermo Rigondeaux was officially recognised as the champion by the WBA. It was believed that Frampton aligning with boxing manager and advisor Al Haymon may have helped get the deal across the line, due to the close relationship between him and Quigg's promoter Eddie Hearn. The fight was discussed at the start on 2015. Quigg not accepting 60–40 in Frampton's favour was one of the reasons it did not happen. Hearn's response to this was the winner would take 60%. Barry McGuigan felt this was unfair to the fighters. He also claimed Quigg had never headlined a fight, whereas Frampton had sold out 16,000 arena shows in Belfast. Frampton was offered a £1.5 million take it or leave it.On 2 November, the fight was officially announced to take place at the Phones4U Arena in Manchester on 27 February 2016, billed for the IBF and WBA super-bantamweight titles, on Sky Sports Box-Office. Both boxers spoke excitedly about the fight. Frampton discredited Quigg's title, saying only his IBF belt was at stake. Frampton said, "I'm delighted that we have finally got this fight signed. his is the fight everyone has wanted for years, none more so than myself. I'm the legitimate champion and I'm going to his backyard to defend my title because that's what champions do. Fans will find out who the real champion is, I'm going to win this fight in style." Speaking on the fight, Quigg said, "I've finally got the fight I've wanted for so long. February 27 will be the best night of my life. I've dedicated my life to this sport and I have never been more confident going into a fight, I know I will beat him in every department. This is a great fight for the sport and I'm delighted to bring it to Manchester and unify the division." On 26 January, Showtime Sports picked up the TV rights to broadcast the fight in the USA. The fight would be broadcast live, ahead of the Showtime Championship Boxing telecast of Léo Santa Cruz vs. Kiko Martinez.
Frampton believed Quigg finally took the fight on the back of his own fight, where he was dropped in round one against Alejandro Gonzalez Jr. but won the fight via decision. Frampton called it a blessing in disguise. Frampton said he had been calling for a fight against Quigg since he was British champion four years ago. The IBF formally sanctioned the bout as a unification only on the condition that the winner of the bout would have 90 days to agree a deal with mandatory challenger, Japanese boxer Shingo Wake. On the other hand, the WBA Championships Committee announced Rigondeaux as 'champion in recess', due to his managerial and promotional issues and not having a fight scheduled. The WBA made it clear that they wanted the winner of Frampton vs. Quigg to fight Rigondeaux before 27 July 2016. In the case of a draw, it would be Quigg vs. Rigondeaux. Frampton and Quigg both appeared in media conferences and said they were both open to fighting Rigondeaux, also acknowledging IBF's request to fight Wake. Ahead of his UK debut, Rigondeaux said he was open to returning to the UK to fight the winner. The fight was also going to be closely watched by featherweight champion, Santa Cruz. He was aware the bout would likely be both boxers last at super-bantamweight and said he was looking forward to them stepping up weight to challenge him.
Frampton and Quigg both weighed in at the arena in front of 3,000 fans on the Friday. Frampton had support from the traveling Irish fans, who made their presence known. Quigg weighed 121.6 pounds and Frampton weighed 121.7 pounds. There was a tense stare down during the face-off with neither fighter breaking eye-contact which last around the minute mark. It was eventually by Frampton who blew Quigg a kiss, then turned to face the crowd. Joe Gallagher and Shane McGuigan, the trainers of Quigg and Frampton, respectively, also had a stare down and small tussle at the weigh in. Later that day, it came to light that Frampton made a request for the Sky Sports broadcast team to not include an individual. No names were mentioned, however Frampton made it known in the past, person in question had been critical of them. The bookmakers had Frampton as a slight favourite going into the fight. There was still tension heading into fight night due to both boxers wanting the bigger dressing room. Quigg believed he should have the bigger room due to being the home fighter and Frampton fought his case due to being the bigger draw in the fight. There was reports to suggest Frampton could pull out of the fight. Quigg claimed it wasn't an issue for him and that he'd get dressed at his house in Bury if it meant the fight would still take place. Eddie Hearn also claimed that they had to agree to multiple demands from team Frampton in order to get the fight over the line from having Frampton's name on the left side of the poster, to having American judges and entering the ring second. Frampton would liked to decided by flipping a coin or doing 'rock, paper, scissors'.
In a close fight, in front of a 20,000 sell-out crowd, Quigg suffered his first professional loss, via split decision. Frampton was in full control of the first half of the fight, during which Quigg simply could not find his range. Quigg finally came alive in the last half as the contest turned into a desperate tussle, but Frampton gave as good as he got. Levi Martinez scored it 115–113 for Quigg, while Carlos Sucre and Dave Parris scored it 116–112 in Frampton's favour. This was Quigg's first defeat in 34 professional fights, stretching back to 2007. Although there was no rematch clause in the contract, there was a verbal agreement that they would do it all again in Belfast if the first fight warranted it. The fight was criticised for the lack of action. The CompuBox also supported this, showing that Frampton landed 83 of his 592 punches thrown and Quigg landed 85 of his 322 thrown. It showed that no power punches were landed by either in the opening 3 rounds. According to Hearn, the PPV did 220,000 buys at box office.
In the post-fight, Frampton said, "I couldn't believe what was going on when I heard the split decision – I felt I was a comfortable winner – but it's onwards and upwards for me now. I knew it was going to be a tactical fight all along and a bit timid. I'm not going to rush into silly punches. You have to be smart. I was and I got the win. He's a solid puncher I think both of us are and that is why it was so cautious early on. But he never really rocked me." Quigg broke his jaw during the fight, which was caused by an uppercut. He underwent surgery the following day and said he would like a rematch. Frampton entered Quigg's dressing room after the fight, showing respect between the teams.
After the fight, Frampton claimed Quigg has little chance of a rematch because their fight was boring and Quigg was so negative in dropping a split decision. Instead stating he would like to move up to featherweight and challenge Leo Santa Cruz in the US. On 10 September 2016, Quigg announced his return to training. In October that year, his trainer Joe Gallagher discussed Quigg’s planned return on the undercard of Anthony Joshua in an interview with World Boxing News.