Frampton says £400,000 tax bill was ‘turning point’ against McGuigan

Carl Frampton vowed never to fight for ex-manager Barry McGuigan again after the taxman called at his home with a bill for nearly £400,000, the boxer told the High Court in Belfast on Wednesday.

The former world champion also claimed financial arrangements left him fearing he could end up boxing for no pay at his dream venue of Windsor Park stadium.

Mr Frampton (33) is suing Mr McGuigan for allegedly withheld earnings from some of his title bouts. The fighter split from his one-time mentor’s Cyclone Promotions in 2017 following eight successful years together.

Giving evidence on the second day of the multimillion-pound lawsuit, he recalled how their deteriorating relationship finally ended after he learned about the tax demand in July that year. His wife Christine informed him by telephone while he was training in London, the court heard.

At the time he was preparing to face Andrés Gutiérrez in Belfast – a bout ultimately called off when the Mexican slipped and injured himself in the shower.

“She [Christine] was very angry on the phone. She was at home alone with our children and someone from the HMRC [HM Revenue & Customs] had come looking for £397,000 in unpaid VAT,” he said.

Resigned

The bill was said to relate to another Cyclone company based in Northern Ireland which included Mr Frampton among its directors. According to the boxer, he resigned from the company within a day.

“At this stage, before the HMRC came to my house, I was still hopeful that we would resolve the issues,” he said.

“When that happened, that was the turning point for me, and I knew that I was going to have to fight Gutiérrez, and I wasn’t going to fight for the McGuigans again.”

The Gutiérrez fight was originally scheduled for Windsor Park, before being moved to the SSE Arena.

Mr Frampton, from Belfast’s Tiger’s Bay, described how training had been far from ideal, with tensions over money issues on his mind.

He told how he had wanted the contest held at Windsor Park.

“It’s just a dream to do it, it’s the home of Northern Irish football and I believed we could sell it out,” he said. His full purse fee of £200,000 was dependent on achieving a 12,000-capacity attendance, an alleged arrangement he described as “strange”.

Mr Frampton said: “I started to get concerned then, doubts whether I could actually sell Windsor Park out, and I was worried that I may fight and actually get no money for a fight.”

Earlier, Mr Frampton told the court he was never paid as a director of the promotional company he signed up to with Mr McGuigan. He also claimed that he was promised a 30 per cent share of profits made by the venture.

Queried

In evidence, Mr Frampton claimed he queried the financial arrangements with two of Mr McGuigan’s sons, Jake and Blain.

“Both answers were very similar: ‘We don’t make profits, there’s not enough money in this game, we receive a wage.’ I think Jake told me he was on 30 grand a year.”

Barry McGuigan never discussed finances with him, it was alleged. “It was always difficult to speak to Barry about money issues,” he said.

Mr McGuigan is defending the action and counter-suing for alleged breach of contract. His barrister disputed the truthfulness of Mr Frampton’s version of events.

In cross-examination Liam McCollum QC put it to the boxer: “Your case is essentially he [Mr McGuigan] stole money from you.” Mr Frampton replied: “Yes.”

But counsel challenged him repeatedly, pointing out that his client could have taken a larger percentage under the managerial agreement.

Rejecting the fighter’s claims that he was underpaid in purse fees by the McGuigans, Mr McCollum said: “The only way you knew about the money was they told you about it.”

The hearing continues.