Shane McGuigan has accused Carl Frampton of trying to steal attention from Tommy McCarthy’s fight with Chris Billam Smith last Saturday night. McCarthy ended up losing the fight by a split decision for the Commonwealth and the then vacant British cruiserweight titles.
McGuigan said to SecondsOut:
“I knew he was coming, it’s just a shame he is trying to steal the limelight from Tommy because he’s had his moment, he’s retired.
“If he’s going to come into our dressing room be the butler boy, pay for his own way to come over it looks like he’s trying to steal the attention.
“I was just a bit disappointed in that, to be honest, our beef aside it’s not about me and him. That’s the thing that annoyed me, that people were trying to draw the attention away from CBS and Tommy. They’re the ones that are going in there, they’re the ones that are fighting.
“At the end of the fight both [McCarthy and Billam-Smith] congratulated each other on a great contest, that’s the way it should be not Frampton trying to stay relevant.”
I think this is a case of anybody seeing what they want to see. McCarthy asked the former WBA super-featherweight champion if he would help out in his corner for the fight. And Frampton obliged.
It was inevitable that Carl being there would divert some of the attention away from the McCarthy v Billam Smith fight. But that is an unintentional side effect that always occurs when somebody who has made a well known mark in boxing makes an appearance. If a pattern started occurring where Frampton was consistently showing up for bouts that involved Shane in some capacity then there may be something worth thinking about.
But right now it should be assumed that is not the case.
