Jason Quigley sees Thursday’s NABF middleweight title fight as a chance to put his name in the division’s shop window – and the title’s history suggests he’s right.
BY CHRIS MCNULTY IN INDIO
Fellow Irishman Andy Lee went on to win the WBO middleweight crown after holding the NABF crown in 2011, when he scored a UD win against Alex Bunema in Illinois.
David Lemieux and Kelly Pavlik have been NABF middleweight winners, as have world middleweight contenders Curtis Stevens and Fernando Guerrero.
“This is a very prestigious belt,” Quigley, pictured by Lina Baker of Instantboxing.com, says.
“It’s a great belt to have to climb the rankings and to get the name out there. That puts more on the line.
“A lot of people who have held it in the past have gone on to win world titles.
“This brings another sense of determination and will power in me.
“I can’t get carried away with the belt. It’s a big fight. I have to stay focussed and take it one round at a time.”
Interestingly, the previous holder of this belt was Ievgen Khytrov, the Ukrainian whom Quigley defeated on his way to winning a European Gold in 2013 when the pair were amateurs.
Quigley will headline the first in the ‘Golden Boy on ESPN’ series on Thursday when he clashes with Tapia – and the Ballybofey man feels ready for the big stage.
He said: “Golden Boy look at me as one of their top prospects and they’re putting a lot of faith in me.
“It gives me great confidence when Golden Boy give me this kind of opportunity and putting me on this kind of stage.
“Ask any boxer what it’d be like to win a belt. This is what it’s all about, collecting the belts, lifting the straps and getting as many of them as possible.”
The Quigley-Tapia weigh-in will be streamed on RingTV.com from 9pm tonight.
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