Carl Frampton: Scott Quigg rematch? I'd rather move on

Carl Frampton said he was reluctant to give Scott Quigg a rematch, after the Belfast fighter outpointed his rival to unify the super-bantamweight division.

Frampton beat Bury's Quigg, who had been unbeaten, via a split decision in Manchester to add the WBA title to the IBF title he already owned.

"If I have to have a rematch and the public demands it, no problem," Frampton, 29, said.

"But I'd rather move on to bigger and better things. The world's our oyster."

Frampton's manager, Irish boxing legend Barry McGuigan, was more unequivocal, saying a return bout with Quigg was "not attractive".

"We need to step it up to another level," McGuigan added. "Leo Santa Cruz [Mexico's WBA featherweight champion] is an obvious fight.

"Unlike Scott Quigg, Santa Cruz lets go, he's not afraid to commit. He's a volume puncher, walks you down and that would be a fabulous money fight.

"It would be great if we could get him over here. Belfast would be wonderful. And maybe we could do the rematch at Madison Square Garden."

Quigg (left) improved in the later rounds after Frampton had made the quicker start

McGuigan also mentioned Wales' IBF featherweight champion Lee Selby as a possible opponent, but discounted former super-bantamweight world champion Guillermo Rigondeaux.

"He's amazing on the back foot but he's negative," McGuigan said of Cuba's Rigondeaux, who fights Jazza Dickens in Liverpool on 12 March. "What do we gain by fighting him?"

After suffering his first defeat in 34 professional fights, Quigg said he felt he could beat Frampton in a return.

"The rematch is the fight I want, I 100% think I can beat him," said 27-year-old Quigg, who suffered a suspected broken jaw in the fourth round.

"The first four or five rounds was a bit of a chess match. He was probably being a bit busier but nothing was landing and I felt comfortable.

"At the end of the fourth round he caught me with a peach of an uppercut that did my jaw. I wanted to start going through the gears but we had to revaluate and be a bit more careful for a bit longer."

However, Quigg's promoter Eddie Hearn admitted Quigg gave away too many rounds in the first half of the fight and conceded that they might have to explore other options.

"A rematch remains the biggest fight and we had an agreement that if the TV broadcaster wanted to see it again, we'd go to Belfast," he said.

"But we've got options. Frampton's not going to fight Rigondeaux, so that's a possibility, and [WBO champion] Nonito Donaire is also an option."

Last October, the WBA downgraded Rigondeaux from its premier champion to 'champion in recess' because of inactivity.

As such, if Frampton is forced to give up his newly-acquired WBA belt because he fails to agree to a mandatory defence, Quigg could end up fighting Rigondeaux for the vacant belt.