Frampton, Quigg meet amid British boxing boom

“I am better than him”.

“It’s about creating a legacy”.

Eddie Hearn, the promoter – and Quigg’s man now after a dalliance in Team Frampton – reached out a pacifying hand to move Frampton back, and in a flash the real essence of this great fight was captured in the harsh reply from the lips of Brick Fists, as Frampton was first known: “Get your hands off me or I will knock you out”.

Expert opinion is divided when it comes to predictions.

But with tensions have always been fraught between the two camps, it was Frampton’s coach Shane McGuigan and Quigg’s coach Joe Gallagher who looked like they might come to blows first. Maybe it’s the way I speak, that I stutter a bit sometimes, but that will be his downfall because he genuinely believes that I have no intelligence and can only fight one way, and that will be his downfall. It’s more than titles – it’s pride and bragging rights.

“I’m sure it will drag on, be childish and pathetic and everyone will lose their rag”.

This is not to say Frampton’s powers have diminished but bare form and the significant improvement in Quigg’s recent performances means that the two men are virtually inseparable going into the bout.

“He’s trying to unsettle me”.

“I’m just training hard, waiting for a date and an opponent”.

“I live like a monk”.

“But I think he’s very superstitious, and superstition is a weakness, I think – I don’t care which dressing room I’m in”.

“Fair dos, they are a little bit ahead of me but they’re not ahead of our kid”.

Frampton was then dropped twice in the opening round of what should have been a simple task against Alejandro Gonzalez, a sign of vulnerability not seen before that surely must have excited Hearn.

While form lines in boxing may not be as reliable as horse racing, advocates of Quigg would point to the Bury man’s recent two round destruction of Kiko Martinez in November as testament to his ascendancy. I’m the home fighter, and I’m in the home dressing room. “The latter stage of the fight could be very, very interesting if that is the case”, he said. “I’m here to fight, what a load of nonsense!”

Adam Smith, Johnny Nelson and Ed Robinson are joined by Glenn McCrory at the Manchester Arena for all the reaction to one of the most atmospheric weigh-ins British Boxing has ever seen. He has described it as “a night that Britain and Ireland will never forget”.

Quigg enjoys a height and sizeable reach advantage and much has been made of his drive, determination and dedication in the build-up, but Frampton believes that his raw natural talent will be the deciding factor on the night.

“It was Dean Burrell at the Peacock in London which I didn’t think I lost”, said Quigg.

At Thursday’s final news conference, Frampton said he should get the bigger dressing room because he was the bigger draw. But looking back, it was probably for the best to let it brew. We are both world champions.

“Even as we were coming through, when we were both prospects, people were comparing who’s the better fighter”.

Quigg’s progress towards boxing’s upper echelons has come away from such fanfare, having left school with his parents’ blessing at the age of 15 to diligently pursue his ring dream.