The Cuban, who is set to fight in Liverpool on March 12, is mandatory challenger to Frampton having been stripped of his status earlier this year and assured by the WBA that he would be the next contender in line.
Frampton’s split decision triumph over Quigg at Manchester Arena on Saturday night put ‘The Jackal’ in a situation where he must face either WBA ‘Champion in Recess’ Rigondeaux or the IBF’s number one Shingo Wake.
Either way, Frampton would lose one of his title belts.
WBN contacted the International Boxing Federation this week to get confirmation that Frampton would not be allowed to face Rigondeaux before then taking on Wake and Chairman Lindsey Tucker assured us their mandatory must be adhered to.
Without the need to call a purse bid yet, it looks likely that Frampton will choose to fight Wake and give up the WBA strap, leaving Rigondeaux a frustrated figure once again.
“Real boxing fans shouldn’t have love for fake champs,” said the former unified champion. “Vacating a title is the coward way out. Are you a coward Carl Frampton?”
Confirmation of Frampton v Wake, or indeed a move up in weight by the Irishman, would then leave Rigondeaux in line to face current interim champion Moises Fuentes for the vacant title.
