More to give – and get – as Jason Quigley eyes the big time again

In the summer of 2020, Eddie Hearn wanted to give Jason Quigley a fight in the garden.

With Covid-19 rampant and the world at a standstill, Hearn came up with a novel concept.

Matchroom Boxing hosted the 'Fight Camp' series at the company's headquarters in Brentwood, Essex. Hearn was literally staging fights in his back garden.

Quigley had been due to fight Jack Cullen a little earlier that year only for Covid to pull the rug on that plan.

McDonagh, McLaughin win, but Donegal boxers endure tough opening at nationals

Owen McDonagh of Dunfanaghy and Illies Golden Gloves man Andrew McLaughlin won quarter-finals at the National Boy, Girl 123 Championships in Dublin

Katie Taylor defeated Delfine Persoon in Hearn's garden and Alexander Povetkin shocked Dillian Whyte in a memorable moment.

Quigley was withdrawn by his then promoter, Golden Boy Promotions, but their other plans for the Ballybofey man didn't materialise.

In May 2021, Quigley defeated Shane Mosley Jr behind closed doors in Las Vegas, ending a wait of 16 months from a January 2020 stoppage of Fernando Marin in Costa Mesa.

An emotional Quigley sank to his knees when the words 'and the new', uttered by announcer David Diamante, rang around the Michelob Arena. His win over Mosley Jr opened up a whole new world.

“I’ve been through a hell of a lot to get here,” Quigley said at the time. “I've been through so much to even get to Vegas. Nobody knows war goes into a training camp.”

The defeat of Mosley gave Quigley a shot at Demetrius Andrade's WBO world middleweight title. Andrade stopped Quigley inside two rounds and until recently supporters wondered if Quigley would step through the ropes again.

On Saturday night – just over a week after Quigley overcame Gabor Gorbics in a comeback fight in Dublin – an announcement from Team Quigley arrived to outline that Quigley is firmly in the mix again.

Jason Quigley in action against Demetrius Andrade

Edgar Berlanga, 'The Chosen One' as he is called, will make his Matchroom debut by headlining at Madison Square Garden. Quigley will stand across the squared circle from the unbeaten Puerto Rican (20-0, 16KOs).

Hearn has finally given Quigley that fight in the Garden – this time, though, its that famous old Mecca of boxing on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Hearn said in announcing the fight on DAZN: “Puerto Rico against Ireland. It’s very similar to Katie Taylor-(Amanda) Serrano.”

Berlanga rose to prominence when stopping his first 16 opponents. He has been taken the distance in his last four and last year was banned for six months and fined $10,000 by the New York commission.

During the course of a fight with title challenger Roamer Alexis Angulo at the Hulu Theatre, Berlanga tried to bite his opponent and joked about the incident during an interview afterwards.

Quigley has had some frustrations with fight scheduling.

Before a defeat to Tureano Johnson in 2019, when he lost his NABF middleweight strap, Quigley was slated to meet Ryota Murata for the WBA middleweight title. Mere days before Quigley was to leave for Tokyo to announce the bout, the WBA ordered that Murata instead face Rob Brant, the mandatory challenger.

Even the 2021 fight with Mosley Jr fell by the wayside on two dates before Quigley finally got his moment.

Quigley's biggest disappointment from the Andrade defeat was that he hadn't done – or get a chance to do - himself justice on the big stage.

“I felt as if there was a lot more in me and a lot more to give,” he said.

His coach, Andy Lee, could relate. Lee came on board after the Johnson defeat and has been instrumental in the Ballybofey man's steps into the world title territory.

Earlier this year, Lee raised eyebrows when, at a press conference to announce Quigley's ring return, the former word middleweight champion said: “Jason is only a phone call away from fighting for a world title again.”

Lee himself lost against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr for the world title in 2012, but two years later he famously stopped Matt Korobov in Vegas.

“Sometimes you have to try once to realise what it takes,” Lee said. “Michael Carruth would say that about the Olympics, 88 prepared him for 1992.

“I felt the same when I fought Chavez and two years later fought Korobov. Jason now knows what it’s like to go to that place. The fact he is here shows that he’s hungry, has the desire, and still wants it.”

The Madison Square Garden joust with Berlanga has been in the works for some weeks.

While it may have landed as a jolt to many, it offered confirmation that Quigley remains well primed for another shot at the big time.

The winner on June 24 is almost certain to be given a shot at a world super-middleweight belt.

After his win over Gorbics, Quigley said: “Boston was unbelievable and maybe I took it in too much.

“I was looking around at the faces, but this time, in a much smaller venue, I was a lot more in the zone and a lot more focussed. I still took the atmosphere in and felt the noise. I took the energy off the crowd. It was something else.

“I am not just coming back here for the sake of it - I am coming back here to win a world title again.”

Clearly, Quigley is a man who has more to give – and get.