By Steve Wellings

Barry McGuigan and Carl Frampton have confirmed the full details behind the Matchroom exit and freshly inked four-fight agreement with BoxNation TV.  The first of these takes place on July 20 in Wembley when Carl defends his IBF Intercontinental super-bantamweight strap against a yet-unnamed opponent.  A victory on that show, which features Dereck Chisora and Billy Joe Saunders, will see Frampton embark on three consecutive bouts in Belfast, pencilled in for September and December of this year and February 2014.

“We will be promoting three big shows in Belfast over the next year, said Barry McGuigan, who will promote the shows alongside ‘Team Frampton’.  “We are thrilled to be on with Frank Warren who has a rich history of success with boxers in British, European and world titles over the last 25 years; he’s broken the record on that one,”

Barry also had his say regarding the recent parting of the ways with promotional powerhouse Matchroom Sports and their exclusive links with Sky Sports.  Barry decided that it was time to pursue other options and BoxNation presented a viable alternative to showcasing his young fighter’s talents.

“Matchroom offered us a deal which was just insufficient and BoxNation came and offered us a deal that was substantially better in every department and it’s as simple as that,” confirmed the former WBA featherweight champion.  “We have no problem with Matchroom or Sky, they are great at what they do and they can get on with their thing but we’ll prove to people that we will do magnificent shows, put on big fights and this kid’s going to win the world title.

“We will use Irish fighters, North and South, and give the fans a chance to see local kids being kept active in good fights.  We are not going to be told that it’s too expensive to come over here and that it’s too difficult; we haven’t heard that once from BoxNation.  This kid can fight and that’s the bottom line.  People seem to forget that I used to be a fighter and that’s the difference between me and all of these other guys and he is my priority.  That makes me more aware of what can happen and we’re thinking about the future, what’s 10 years down the line.”

BoxNation’s representative on the day, George Warren, is clearly enthused by the prospect of getting involved with the Frampton story and gaining a foothold for his channel across the Emerald Isle.

“Carl is unquestionably one of the most exciting prospects in the country and it’s fantastic that subscribers of BoxNation are going to be able to see him win the world title and hopefully in Belfast, then defend it a couple of times in Belfast,” said Warren.

“Barring Froch-Kessler name me one of the biggest fights that’s happened recently that hasn’t happened on BoxNation?  That’s what we are doing, building a channel and securing the best fighters that we can.”

For his part Frampton was quick to establish that the business dealings were not conducted without his knowledge and confirmed that he is now playing a key role in the structure of his career.

“What we’ve got here is not just a good deal but an unbelievable deal,” enthused ‘The Jackal’.  “We are going to be boxing in Belfast which is what I wanted to do.  There are exciting times ahead and I’m genuinely looking forward to this relationship that we have.  I’m part of this promotional team as well and this is better for me as we know everything that’s happening and going on.  There’s no decisions made without me giving the go ahead, I’m involved in all discussions, nothing’s done over my head because we are all one team.  I’m grateful for the opportunity.”