Eddie Hearn has claimed that IBF super bantamweight champion Carl Frampton is insisting on a neutral venue for his long-awaited showdown with Scott Quigg.

Negotiations between Matchroom and Cyclone Promotions have finally started to make progress over the past week, and Matchroom head honcho Hearn spoke to Sky Sports about the arduous discussions.

Any potential fight in the 21,000 seater Manchester Arena is now seemingly off the table, with Frampton and Cyclone refusing to fight in the backyard of the English challenger who hails from nearby Bury. Hearn explained that “originally Carl stated he would be happy to take a 60-40 split in Manchester, but now they have said it has to be a neutral venue”

“That may be a problem but I think it’s understandable because now they know what type of fight this will be.”

Hearn continued, saying that “talks are underway and have been for a while but it’s just a case if they both fight in December – separately – or they go straight into a fight in January or February.”

Reading between the lines of these endless negotiations, one would be inclined to believe that London’s 20,000 capacity O2 Arena is now in pole position to host the mega-fight.