This is low-key the most excitement-promising dark horse fight on Matchroom's upcoming Diriyah card, set to quite probably steal the show before the heavyweights (Povetkin vs. Hunter & Ruiz vs. Joshua II) clock in - and in the running - alongside Murata vs. Butler and Tapales vs. Iwasa - for the most guaranteed slug-fest left on the docket in 2019. The vacant WBA Intercontinental super featherweight title will be at stake. That's curious, as neither man is currently rated top 15 by the WBA. Baresford is rated #9 by the IBF and Quigg doesn't currently appear in any world rankings.
This will be Quigg's first assignment in fourteen months (which explains his absence from the rankings) and his fifth under Freddie Roach's tutelage. He is 3-1 since ditching Joe Gallagher and relocating to Wild Card, losing only against Óscar Valdez. Baresford/Carroll has gone 1-1-1 in the last year, drawing with Guillaume Frenois in December and suffering his first pro defeat at the hands of Tevin Farmer in March. His tuneup victory in August was at lightweight, meaning his last win super featherweight was Declan Geraghty seventeen months ago.
