Head of Sky Boxing admits Frampton ITV deal is good for boxing

HEAD of Boxing on Sky Sports Adam Smith claims he would love to see Carl Frampton fight on Sky Sports again, but admits Cyclone Promotion’s and ‘The Jackal’s’ deal with ITV is good for everyone in boxing.

Smith and co didn’t show Frampton too much love when he was appearing on Matchroom Sky broadcast cards before the foundation of Cyclone Promotions and a brief move to Boxnation.

Indeed, ‘The Jackal’ was open about feeling hard done by both the broadcaster and Matchroom when announcing he had set up a promotion company along with the McGuigan family.

One of the lesser complaints the IBF super bantamweight champion of the World had was the lack of between fight exposure he had from Sky in comparison to other Matchroom fighters. Frampton claimed Ringside appearances were sparse as where TV appearances on other fighter’s shows.

Outside of team Frampton there were suggestions Sky doubted Frampton’s ability to become a household name and the cost of coming to Belfast didn’t sit right with them as a result.

Frampton has since gone on to become a World champion with enviable ticketing selling ability and is also a developing a name on the World stage. His ITV deal will no doubt make him a cross over star and put him in pole position for any talks re a bout with Matchroom’s Scott Quigg.

Speaking to IFL TV Smith was full of praise for Cyclone Promotions and their leading man and claimed the move was good for boxing.

The Sky Sports head honcho also admitted he would love to see Frampton back on Sky in fights with Scott Quigg and Kid Gallahad.

“It is fantastic for boxing. ITV and BBC have been out of the game for so long, Channel Five have come in and it is healthy to have competition and to have eyeballs watching boxing,” said Smith.

“Look what Al Hayman has done in the States he has this big deal with NBC and what a deal that will turn out to be.

“Good luck to Carl Frampton. I think very highly of him. What he and Barry McGuigan have done is absolutely fantastic not just for Ireland but for all of us. I think him against Quigg down line is a massive fight and put Kid Gallahad and Leo Santa Cruz in the mix and its an exciting division. Good luck to Carl the more boxing that’s out there the better.

“I don’t know about any talks about Carl (versus Avalos on February 28) fighting on Sky, but what I do know is Carl is a terrific fighter. Obviously we have a deal with Eddie (Hearn) at the moment and he isn’t a Matchroom fighter, so he doesn’t fight on Sky, but obviously down the line I would love to see Carl (on Sky) again. He is welcome on Ringside as he knows at any time.”

I would love to see him in big fights with Quigg and Gallahad down the line and hopefully the will be back with us. For the boxing fan it is great that he is a World champion, he had a wonderful year last year. I though the night at the titanic was fantastic he has always had the pedigree and worked really hard to achieve his dream and I was delighted for him