Jason Quigley to have 'main man' Andy Lee in corner for Berlanga bout

Andy Lee will be in Jason Quigley's corner as the Donegal man eyes up his latest professional title in New York next weekend.

Quigley (20-2, 14KOs) faces unbeaten Puerto Rican Edgar Berlanga (20-0, 16KOs) in the headline act at the iconic Madison Square Garden.

It has been confirmed that the NABO super-middleweight title will be on the line. The belt is held by Berlanga, who will be making his third defence of the strap.

In 2021, Quigley won the middleweight version of the same belt when beating Shane Mosley Jr in Las Vegas – a win that catapulted him towards a WBO world middleweight shot against Demetrius Andrade later that year.

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Visa issues prevented Lee from cornering Quigley in those fights, but the former WBO world middleweight champion will be in the Big Apple. Having Lee by his side was one of the terms laid down by Team Quigley when accepting the showdown with 'The Chosen One', Berlanga.

“We're good to go and ready to rock and roll,” Quigley said.

“Andy will be the main man in the corner. It's massive. It's huge. I have great faith, great belief, great trust, a great relationship with Andy.

“We have done everything this past few years together, drilling techniques, drilling game plans and creating a bond and relationship. To have him in the corner is massive. There is no other way to say it, it's massive to have him there for the whole week and on fight night.”

During his own career, Lee hit back from a 2012 defeat by Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, when the WBC middleweight belt was up for grabs, to famously stop Matt Korobov in Las Vegas just two and a half years later.

Jason Quigley after beating Shane Mosley in 2021.

Lee's experience is one that fuels Quigley, who returned in February after a 16-month lay off following the Andrade fight with a unanimous decision win over Gabor Gorbics at the National Stadium.

The Ballybofey man said: “We like to see things to believe them. I'm living every day, right in front of me, to see it and believe it.

“It's not just someone else's story. I'm doing walking, running, going for dips in the ring, doing pads and sparring with a man who has gone through everything that I have.

“It's there right in front of me that it's possible. It's right there walking, talking, breathing in front of me. There is no better incentive or believe that you can do it to have a man like that training you.”

Berlanga is fighting for the first time under the Matchroom banner, but Quigley sees this as a step back to the big time.

He said: “I know what this fight can do for my career and where it can put me. I am not focussing on that now. I am focussed on myself, we have had a great camp and we are really looking forward to putting the game plan into action.

“There are a lot of tasty fights at super-middleweight for me. That is all dependent on fight night and I am not looking past Berlanga. This is a world title fight for me because I know what this one can do for me.”