The all British World Super Bantamweight title unification bust up between Carl Frampton and Scott Quigg at the Manchester Arena is just 53/100 to last beyond ten rounds.
Yet, the recent record of both men suggests that the 69/50 about the destination of the laurels being decided before the conclusion of the ninth stanza may be a more prudent wager.
Boxing fight match-betting favourite Frampton (13/20) has stopped 14 of his 21 career opponents, including three of his last five, with the most recent triptych of early curtains coming before the seventh
Meanwhile, Quigg, 13/10 outsider in the match betting, has been in even more merciless nick, sending four of his last five foes packing without recourse to a fourth round.
The latter is the bigger, more powerful, man, some three inches taller than the Northern Irishman, and looks the more likely to end things early, despite the bookmakers’ protestations.
Frampton, on the other hand, admitted to struggling to boil down to the 122lb limit after his last fight, a scorecard success over Alejandro Gonzalez in Texas in which he recovered from two first round knockdowns.
Weight travails continue to dog the Belfast boxer in the build up to his encounter with Quigg in the eyes of Sky Sports pundit and former WBO World Cruiserweight boss Johnny Nelson.
“I think Carl Frampton is struggling with the weight. I know you don’t see a lot at the public work-out but there wasn’t a drip of sweat on him. Scott Quigg spent the same amount of time hitting the pads and he was dripping with sweat,” Nelson revealed.
Given the Bury fighter’s recent ferocity at world level, the 25/1 about a second round stoppage win, or the 22/1 about him securing victory in the third taken on an intriguing tinge.
