Jason Quigley: ‘Everywhere I go, everything I see is a WBO world title’

Wherever Jason Quigley has gone lately, the WBO World Middleweight belt seems to have had a presence. 

Quigley fights for the belt against the title holder, Demetrius Andrade, next month in Manchester, New Hampshire. He got a brief taste of its feeling in May.

A career best performance by Quigley saw him overcome Shane Mosley Jr for the NABO Middleweight title. An issue with the courier company on the night meant that the NABO strap wasn’t in Las Vegas to be presented.

Instead, for images inside the ring at Mandalay Bay, a WBO world belt was used. Quigley’s coach, Andy Lee, defeated Matt Korobov in 2014 to become WBO World Middleweight champion. Another Irish icon, Steve Collins, held it in the 1990s.

Reminders of these seismic moments in Irish boxing are dotted over the walls of the Raphoe Boxing Club, where Quigley trains when he’s in Donegal.

“Everywhere I go, everything I see is a WBO world title,” Quigley said. “Even in the boxing gym in Raphoe, it’s Steve Collins with his WBO belt, it’s Andy with his WBO belt. Everywhere I’m looking it’s the WBO belt. Hopefully it’s not always there and it’s around me as well in pictures up on the wall.”

Andrade won the vacant title with a win over Walter Kautondokwa in October 2018.

Four successful defences - including a January 2020 win over Irishman Luke Keeler - have followed for the 33-year-old Rhode Island native.

Andrade, unbeaten in 30 fights and with 18KOs, will present Quigley (19-1, 14KOs) with his biggest test yet.

Quigley said: “Andrade is the WBO world champion; he is being avoided, he is not getting  fights. I’m sure in his contract he has to get so many fights. I knew I was a big enough draw and a name and I was an exciting enough fighter as well so I knew the DAZN would be happy enough with it as well.

“He needs fights and the big guns are avoiding him. I’ll happily step in and bring that title back to Ireland.”

Quigley recently got engaged to his long-time partner, April McManus, and has been based in Ireland since linking up with Lee in late 2019.

The Finn Valley man, a former World silver and European gold medalist in the Irish vest, feels ready for the moment.

He said: “I’m in the perfect stage in my life and my career to deal with this situation.

“I’m not the young kid now living for the whole excitement of fighting for a world title. Of course inside I am excited and looking forward to it. At the end of the day this is just another fight for me. Of course there is a lot more on the line. In terms of my outlook and my focus this is just another fight and I am training my absolute ass off in the gym to get that W (win).

“To get that W will mean so much in this fight than in any other fight.

“So there is obviously bits of excitement there that I am learning to control and learning to tunnel vision and focus on the things that matter – getting to the ring one hundred percent the best person I can be in the fight.”

When he goes through the ropes of the SNHU Arena next month, he’ll see the WBO World Middleweight belt again. This time, it can be his.