IT WAS back to porridge for Jason Quigley this week.
After ending a 16-month exile from the ring with a statement win over Shane Mosley Jr, Quigley is eager to up the ante.
A majority decision of Mosley Jr in Las Vegas handed Quigley the NABO middleweight title – and now he wants to take on the world.
Quigley can expect to make a significant jump when the world rankings are updated – and he doesn’t want to waste any more time on his mission.
“I’m craving routine again,” he said.
“I’m back on my water, I’ve had my porridge.
“I had two days of just eating what I want. And my body was like, ‘what are you doing?’
“I was on boxes of doughnuts and buns that people were sending me. Leading up to the fight, and after, I couldn’t wait to get stuck into all that kind of stuff, but now I want the routine.”
Jason Quigley during his bout with Shane Mosley Jr in Las Vegas. Picture: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom
Quigley called out the WBO world champion Demetrius ‘Boo Boo’ Andrade.
If the chance comes to face the American, Quigley – who turned 30 last month – won’t back down.
He said: “Each fight now is going to be bigger than the last and that’s the way I want it to go.
“I am 30 years of age and probably this is the last chapter to my career and I just want to make it all worthwhile now.
“I want to give it absolutely everything I’ve got grab every opportunity that comes my way with both hands and make every moment count.
“Since I started this game, I have wanted to be a world champion. If the opportunity came along and I got offered the Demetrius Andrade fight it would take a hell of a lot for me to turn that down.
“We have just got to see what comes along if that opportunity comes along, but I wouldn’t be the person who says no to that fight without a doubt.”
Jason Quigley celebrates capturing the NABO middleweight title at the Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay in Las Vegas, Nevada. Picture: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.
Last January, Andrade stopped Dubliner Luke Keeler in the ninth round and is unbeaten in 30 fights.
The Andy Lee-trained Quigley moved to 19-1 after a majority decision win at the weekend. The win is likely to move the Finn Valley puncher well into the leading positions in the world rankings.
He said: “The Andrade fight is a very likely and a very easy fight to make because I have a version of the WBO belt now which is the legitimate one he has.
“He is an avoided fighter. He doesn’t get a lot of people calling him out, a lot of the big guns don’t really want to fight him because he is high risk with little reward.
“It is a good fight, get it made.”
Another option for Quigley could be a showdown with Jaime Munguia, a fellow Golden Boy Promotions boxer.
He said: “It would be a very easy fight to make. That fight should be a world title eliminator – then possibly fight Andrade.
“There are a lot of options out there. It is great to have that because before this fight all the options weren’t coming. It is like you are pushing for opportunities, you pushing to get your foot in the door to get that breakthrough fight. It is great to be in this position.”
Quigley went through the ropes at the weekend for the first time since a third round stoppage of Fenando Marin in January 2020.
A series of possible fights fell through the cracks, but Quigley returned with the best display of his professional career.
The former Irish amateur standout wants his latest win to act as a springboard.
He said: “I just want to stay busy, stay active. I want to keep fighting but I want every fight to be bigger than the last one.
“I don’t want to be taking any backward steps. I want to keep climbing the ladder. I want to keep making headlines as I push forwards towards that world title.”
“Right now, I feel fresh as a daisy, fit as a fiddle. But it’s always been in my head that I wouldn’t like to be boxing past 35 years of age. So, I have five years, now.
“It’s mad, you think back to being 10 years of age, your whole career in front of you and not even looking at the possibility of there being an end in sight.
“I feel like this is the point, now, where I want to have big fights, good performances, world titles and really make a name for myself so I can leave the sport feeling fulfilled in what I’ve achieved in the game.”
Tags: