Carl Frampton’s stunning world-title win last weekend highlights the hard work being done behind the scenes by him and his trainer Shane McGuigan at their Battersea gym.
In front of the booming 16,000 crowd who packed into Belfast’s Titanic Quarter last Saturday night, hometown hero Carl Frampton produced a boxing master-class to dethrone IBF super-bantamweight world champion Kiko Martinez.
It was the culmination of months of preparation in the gym with his trainer and friend, Shane McGuigan, son of Hall of Fame boxer Barry.
Although Frampton and McGuigan both hail from Northern Ireland, it is at McGuigan’s Gym in Battersea where the hard work and training takes place.
After an amateur career which saw him win national titles McGuigan, 25, decided to become a personal trainer and strength and conditioning coach in 2010.
Frampton, 27, turned professional in 2009 after an amateur career which included more than 100 victories and came under the management of Shane’s father Barry McGuigan.
It is here that their paths crossed and the partnership was born. A 19-fight undefeated streak and a world championship belt followed.
Now they find themselves on the cusp of a number of potential mega-fights in one of boxing’s most talented weight classes at 122lbs.
One of these fights could be with Frampton’s biggest domestic rival, Manchester’s WBA-regular world champion Scott Quigg.
Both have repeatedly called each other out over the last couple of years and it is a fight that the public are increasingly desperate to see.
Considering the magnitude of the fight it’s reasonable to expect (or at least hope) it could take place right here in London which has a history of staging huge world title fights.
In years to come McGuigan’s Gym could well prove to be the latest iconic venue in the history of sport in this city.
