'Here for the long haul': Jason Quigley’s vision realised as Finn Valley sells out

Jason Quigley had been across the globe in his own boxing journey, but on Saturday night he delivered a production in Stranorlar that could have stood aside any professional boxing show.

Fight Night at the Valley, which drew a capacity 600 crowd to the Finn Valley Centre, might have lacked a bluechip name, but Quigley’s cast put on a show worthy of a big night.

Five pro fights, including two six-rounders and three four-round bouts, all went their scheduled distances and there were fireworks throughout an action-packed night - the first time for pro boxing to be staged in the Twin Towns of Ballybofey and Stranorlar.

“Donegal boxing is here - and it’s here to stay,” Quigley said afterwards.

“People coming in there tonight didn’t expect to see the lights, the glitz, the glam, the screens. People just think professional boxing here, small and low key, but in terms of production and show and what we put in, that was legit pro boxing.

“I wanted to make sure that the people who came here had the experience, the atmosphere and the feel of a real professional boxing night. People will see what they missed here and we were sold out of tickets with three weeks to go.

“The appetite is here for professional boxing. The need for it is here and the demand is here.

“We have the blueprint for this now. There has never been a seating plan for that arena before. We’re delighted with it and we know what to add the next time around.

“I said that we would break the mould. Yes, this mightn’t have been done before, but now it has been done.”

All of the home fighters came with unblemished records - and left with their 0s intact.

They included the bill-topper Thomas Myers, the light-heavyweight from Sligo who is bidding to win a contract with Sheer Sports. The same is true of show-opener Jason Myers and also David Kennedy, the Gorey man who made his return from injury on the card. 

“Jason is very exciting, very explosive - it is very exciting for him moving forward,” Quigley said. “That six-rounder puts him in good stead and I’d love to get a Celtic or Irish title for him.

“What about Myers v Kennedy for a title up here? I also have one of the most talented men in that division in Kian Hedderman.

“This is a great buzz seeing the lads in there fighting. You’ll never get the buzz as fighting yourself, but this is the start and it’s about growing this now.

“We’re not here to come in and have the best year ever and bounce out. We’re here for the long haul. We’re in no mad rush and we’ll build this nicely.”

Quigley cut many of his own teeth while honing his skills at the Finn Valley Centre in his formative years as a boxer. 

It was here where the former Finn Valley Amateur Boxing Club was based for most of its days and here where Quigley danced as an amateur on club shows. That trip included a memorable joust when he beat Chris Blaney from Navan in 2012 while his homecomings, good and sombre, all took place at the venue on the Millbrae.

Quigley, a former world middleweight title challenger, said: “The most pleasing aspect was seeing the Finn Valley Centre rammed to the back rafters and the fighters getting in there and doing their thing. 

“Donegal is the home for Sheer Sports now, but we will be expanding. This will be the base. With the likes of Aodhan and Daniel out of the same gym, we can definitely move to that area. It’s visions that we have and we want them to be put into play.”

Another of Quigley’s fighters, Rhys Owens, whom he jointly manages with Jamie Conlan, fights in Belfast this weekend at the Waterfront Hall. Quigley says he is “excited” for the Enniskillen man, who is on a card shown on DAZN.

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Quigley’s boxers on Saturday night in Stranorlar certainly didn’t take any gimmes.

Aodhan Byrne, a debutant, for instance, defeated Marian Wesolowski, a durable opponent who has now been the distance on his last seven outings. 

Quigley said: “The opponents really made it.  We looked through them and we wanted to give our fighters a good fight. You only go backwards if you get a minute or three minutes. I don’t believe that that’s enough - especially for young fighters coming through. We wanted someone to make them learn and test them.”