By Paul Webb

“Boxing is a business as much as it’s a sport” is a quote you here an awful lot from promoters, managers, matchmakers, journalists and fighters, it’s true the potential financial gain from a fight is of utmost importance above anything else.

Cuban super bantamweight Guillermo Rigondeaux (13-0 8KO’s) is universally regarded as the best in the division and one is one of the top fighters in the world but he finds himself in a very difficult position because commercially it seem’s he is being avoided by his fellow elite super bantamweights.

The former Olympic gold medallist was a stand out amateur and following his defection from Cuba he turned professional in May 2009 and just seven fights later he held the WBA Interim title. He picked up the full WBA belt soon after and unified the WBO title against Nonito Donaire last year.

His success is also his undoing, from a technical point of view he is arguably the best ‘pure’ boxer on the planet. The combination of hand speed, accuracy and hitting without getting hit in return is wonderful to watch and is appreciated by hard core fans of the sport but his seeming unwillingness to get in to a ‘fight’ has turned of the casual fans and TV networks alike.

Even his own promoter Bob Arum see’s him as a difficult sell and seems to be growing impatient with his fighter and the situation.

On the other side of the Atlantic resides WBA ‘regular’ champion Scott Quigg (28-0-2 21KO’s). The 25 year old from Bury has defended his belt three times and is looking to be involved in much bigger fights from now on.

Many names have been suggested as potential opponents a unification with Kiko Martine or Leo Santa Cruz is possible and the fight many want to see against Carl Frampton each have their own appeal.

Promoter Eddie Hearn and Quigg have talked a lot about these three fights and there has been no mention of a fight with Rigondeaux except for instant dismissal as “he brings high risk low reward”.

I won’t argue the risk, on paper it’s a very one sided fight but boxing doesn’t happen on paper and Quigg who is improving with every fight shouldn’t and won’t feel like he couldn’t compete with a Rigondeaux.

Now lets look at the all important finances, currently Quigg is yet to headline his own show and isn’t known in the industry as a big ticket seller, it shouldn’t matter but it does. Frampton who doesn’t hold a title sells out the Odyseey in Belfast and despite fighting on Boxnation instead of Sky he is still earning very good money.

Leo Santa Cruz is signed to Golden Boy and has fought on some big shows but he is an unknown in the UK and has no real motivation to travel outside the US. Spaniard Kiko Martinez is no stranger to these shores and is enjoying a late surge to his career, its a very makeable fight but again it’s far from a guaranteed mega pay day for Quigg.

A loss against any of those three fighters would be disastrous for Quigg but due to the weak nature of the division below championship level a fight with at least one is inevitable.

One fight where losing wouldn’t be anywhere near as damaging would be if a fight was made with the true WBA champion Rigondeaux. Unlike the other three he is highly motivated for the fight and is willing to travel to Manchester to make it happen. He is as well known as Santa Cruz in the UK if not more and the respect gained worldwide just by stepping in to the ring with him will be massive for Quigg’s profile.

It is a headline fight for the Phones 4 U arena, Sky Sports could market it as Quigg takes on the worlds best and fans would be intrigued to see just what he can do. For all his superlative talent Rigo lacks passion and 10,000 screaming Mancs could be enough to help Quigg pull of a win that would set some serious tongue wagging stateside, not to mention trainer Joe Gallagher who loves the chance to show of his coaching prowess.

It’s a no lose situation and Quigg is more than capable of winning back a title if he were to lose, the pressure will be on long time rival Frampton to do the same and Quigg’s position in the public eye will be at an all time high.

Financially it does as well as pretty much any fight outside of Frampton but unlike the other options on the table Quigg can’t lose.

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