As many have argued before, if Scott Quigg and Carl Frampton are to fight, it will not be sanctioned as an eliminator.

Belfast’s Frampton is the IBF super bantamweight champion, whereas Quigg holds the lightly regarded WBA ‘regular’ trinket. Indeed, the validity of Quigg’s belt has been a source of division amongst the boxers, their teams, and their fans.

However, IBF Chairman Lindsey Tucker has today definitively confirmed that any fight between the two would not serve as a unification for their two belts.

Speaking exclusively to World Boxing News, Tucker noted that “we can clarify that Scott Quigg cannot unify the super bantamweight titles with Carl Frampton.”

The reasoning for this is that Scott Quigg is not a World Champion, and Tucker explains that “the last time I checked, Guillermo Rigondeaux was the WBA Super Champion and that is the only title we recognise for a unification.”

“The way things are right now with Quigg being ‘regular’ champion, we would not approve a unification.”

The situation mirrors that of Jamie McDonnell, another Matchroom fighter, who holds the WBA ‘regular’ Bantamweight title. Earlier this year he faced WBO champion Tomoki Kameda, but the WBO, correctly, did not sanction a unification and would strip the Japanese fighter of their belt as he insisted on fighting for the Englishman’s trinket.