To the naked eye, British and Irish boxing's own personal 'Mayweather - Pacquiao saga' might look like it's finally about to reach its conclusion, with Scott Quigg's promoter Eddie Hearn declaring progress has been made in negotiations with Carl Frampton's representatives, Barry McGuigan and Cyclone Promotions.
But the entire story took a turn just as I was bloody writing it, with a tweet (yeah, I know) from former pound-for-pound great Nonito 'The Filipino Flash' Donaire - the five-division world champion who had been in talks to face Quigg for the Bury native's WBO super-bantamweight crown before the end of the year.
Donaire, perhaps not overly enthused by his talks with Quigg coming to a halt (which initially further suggested a breakthrough in talks between Eddie Hearn and Frampton's representatives), claims the Frampton - Quigg megabout certainly won't be the next fight for either man, despite Hearn's claims that '60% of the hurdles have been overcome.'
Big shame we won't get to see one our favourite fighters - @filipinoflash - take on Scott Quigg any time soon. pic.twitter.com/GBxehGu2vc
— 138.com (@138dotcom) September 24, 2015
@GavanCasey @138dotcom frampton is fighting wake n quigg is fighting mcdonnell
— Nonito Donaire - filipinoflash.eth (@filipinoflash) September 24, 2015
It appears Donaire knows something we don't know, and if the Pinoy icon is to be believed, Belfast's IBF super-bantam champ Frampton will instead face off against mandatory challenger Shingo Wake (19-4, 11KOs), with British nemesis Quigg facing fellow northerner and current WBA world champ one weight below, Jamie McDonnell (27-2-1, 12 KOs).
It's worth noting that, in light of Hearn's positive comments earlier, this by no means KOs hopes of a Quigg vs Frampton showdown. Indeed, it was probably the plan since negotiations for the fight recommenced.
Given the history between Frampton, Quigg and respective promotional teams, negotiations will likely rage on for weeks to come. It makes sense that both camps would want their stars to remain active - with solid, winnable title defences - while they look to thrash out a deal, which in turn becomes slightly more lucrative to each fighter two fights down the line.
I had a meeting yesterday with the McGuigans and we are solving problems,
Eddie Hearn told Sky Sports earlier today.
I would say if we're going round a horse track, we've probably gone over 60 per cent of the hurdles. We're not down the home straight, but we are approaching it. There are still some big jumps on the home straight.
The best thing is, we're solving problems and we've solved a lot of problems and we've still got more to do. There seems to be a real desire from both camps to get this made.
In truth, Frampton - Quigg transcends the domestic scene that both men wish to establish their dominance in by beating each other. If or when the fight is finalised, it will be one of the most eagerly anticipated clashes in world boxing; significant interest and debate as to the outcome is already commonplace amongst fight fans and scribes alike in the USA.
And, even allowing for Nonito Donaire's Twitter bombshell, Eddie Hearn's suggestions earlier that both promotional teams were finally willing to bend on certain aspects of negotiation is the first positive news to emerge surrounding the Quigg - Frampton rivalry in some time.
We've messed around for too long. We've moved on our position, we're asking them to and they're moving on certain things and we're moving on other things,
he said.
You just need to give a little bit to appease the other person and you might not like that sometimes, but that's just life.
When we talk about super fights for Britain, Brook-Khan, Groves-DeGale. I think this is the one that has by far the most chance of happening and sooner rather than later.
It certainly seems like progress has finally been made, which is good news for boxing people on either side of the Irish Sea.
Five years of Frampton-Quigg stories. You'd want some serious patience lads
— Kevin Byrne (@KevooByrne) September 24, 2015
