JASON QUIGLEY’S DECISION to turn professional with the world-renowned Golden Boy Promotions was a “no-brainer.”
Oscar de la Hoya’s superstar stable confirmed last week that they have snapped up Irish boxing’s rising star on his first pro deal.
Quigley, 22, will launch his career under the same banner as household names like Amir Khan, Juan Manuel Marquez, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and Adrien Broner.
The Donegal native returns to training in Stranorlar today ahead of his debut which will be in the US, most likely in July.
An opponent and the venue have still to be confirmed although the dream scenario would be a place on the undercard of Canelo’s fight against Erislandy Lara in the 17,000-seater MGM Grand, Las Vegas on 12 July.
Quigley has had no shortage of suitors since he exploded onto the scene with a historic 2013 which saw him win the European amateur title and then become the first Irishman to win silver at the World Championships.
Once Golden Boy made him an offer, he was sold.
“It was a no-brainer for me to be honest,” he told TheScore.ie.
“When you have the likes of Oscar de la Hoya behind you, the man is a legend and a hero in the sport of boxing. What he’s done inside and outside the ring is absolutely amazing.
Other promotional groups don’t have a boxer that has made it behind them. Golden Boy have Oscar de la Hoya. He knows the way a boxer should be treated, he knows what a boxer wants, he knows the pressure that should be on a boxer before a fight and what pressure not to put on a boxer before a fight.
“It’s invaluable experience he has really.
“The first time I met him was when I came out to LA there a month or two ago. Everything was positive. He’s a gentleman, a really really nice, humble, down to earth fella.”
The plan now is for Quigley to build up his profile and record in America, starting off in four-round bouts and gradually making his way up through the world’s middleweight ranks.
He will be based in the US for his pre-fight training and he got a taste of the west coast lifestyle in the spring when he travelled out with his father and coach Conor for a camp in Los Angeles.
In the famous Rock boxing gym he brushed shoulders with no fewer than four world champions.
More importantly the time spent in LA allowed them to finalise their negotiations with Golden Boy.
“I think the first time they approached us was in December.
“There were so many rumours going about, so many people saying that they were signing me up and then Golden Boy weren’t sure if they wanted to sign me because they heard that I was with somebody else, and I was with nobody.
Me and my dad were sitting at home and my dad just said, let’s get the money together, get our arses up out of the seat and get out there and make this happen for ourselves.
After narrowly missing out on gold at the World Championships it became obvious that Quigley’s dream was to become a professional world champion, even if though it meant giving up his shot at an Olympic gold medal at Rio 2016.
The writing was on the wall when he skipped the Irish National Championships in February and relinquished his middleweight title.
It took a couple more months before he finally signed on the dotted line with Golden Boy, but he insists there was never any rush.
“Once January came I was itching to get back into the ring and the National Championships were coming up but it wasn’t what excited me. The professional scene excited me.
“We had a few offers at that stage and it was very likely that I was going professional, but we just had to sit down and take our time.
“I’m lucky. I’m 22 years of age and I could sit down and take my time and think about contracts. If you’re 26, 27, you’d be thinking let’s get on the ball here and get things happening as quickly as possible.
I was flat out for over a year and a half. I had 33 fights, 33 wins inside a year and half. That’s massive, it’s a serious amount of fights. That break that I had off did me absolutely no harm. If anything, it was a major plus for me.
Since the Golden Boy news was confirmed, Quigley says he’s had nothing but good wishes from friends and fans.
He even got a little taste of the pro lifestyle when he was spotted during a bank holiday break with his girlfriend in Achill Island over the weekend.
He was, of course, happy to stop in and meet Achill Boxing Club’s stars of the future.
And while his immediate future lies stateside, Quigley says the ultimate goal is to fight for a world title back in Ireland.
“America is where it happens. That’s where the crowds are. LA, Las Vegas, Southern California – it’s the capital of professional boxing no matter what anybody says.
“My first few fights mightn’t draw a big crowd but if I do make it, it would be a dream to come back and fight for or defend a world title in my home country.”
No they’d be terrible. As a Forest fan, I think the team have been, for the most part playing good attacking football and scoring goals. They’ve been inconsistent – a little soft at the back is all. Due to the influx of cash, the standard in the EFL is far more technically proficient and tactically sophisticated league (at the top end at least) than it was when O’Neill and Keane last managed this division. I’ve seen nothing in their recent work to suggest they have the tactical savvy to do a job for Forest. They certainly don’t have tne man-management skills to get the best out of the modern professional footballer.
@Fergal O’ Reilly: yes because they got to the last 16 of the euros and 90 mins from a World Cup without having a clue about tactics. Sick of people churning out this shpeel about o Neil and Keane.
@Lorcan Cunningham: there was a horrible amount of luck and just plain heart and fight by the players to get there though. When the adrenaline of the Euros died, then the will of the players did too. There’s nothing motivating about playing the same aimless football for the following two years when smaller countries with less talent become more proficient and confident.
@Lorcan Cunningham: Nah! You’ve cherrypicked one example of things working out – and there’s probably one or two other properly “impressive” displays e.g. Germany and Serbia. (But even then what exactly was their tactical master stroke? ) And anyway, the last 12-18 months have been abject – deplorable even – with ZERO semblance of a tactical game plan . And on top of that, you need to be even better man-managers in a club environment because of player/agent-power. The two lads are beyond abysmal in that department.
@Fergal O’ Reilly: last 12 months things crumbled due to injuries/retirements. The lads were at the helm for some memorable nights for Irish football over their tenure, nights that had been lacking for a decade. Get off the o Neill’s a dinosaur bandwagon lads it’s embarrassing.
@Fergal O’ Reilly: I don’t think anybody could disagree with you . O’Neill would be absolute disaster for Forest. In fact I think he would be a disaster for any team. If you want to watch dross week in week out, get Big Sam. At least you would have some chance of promotion
In the context of management, to mention Brian Clough and Martin O’Neill in the same sentence is sacrilegious. Brian Clough was one of the greatest football managers who ever lived. Martin O’Neill was at best a journeyman manager.
@Fergal O’ Reilly: The Big Sam thing was a joke by the way. You should also pray the don’t get Big Sam.
@Lorcan Cunningham: I’m not on the “dinosaur bandwagon” apropos of nothing (like I’d never bring it up for the sake of getting a dig in – that’d be puerile, and indeed embarrassing) …I only make the case for his lack of tactical nous in making the case against his being considered for the role
@CrabaRev: Ha! I get you! To be honest, we’ve almost been relegated for the past few seasons, been banned from the transfer market for FPA transgressions, had parts of the stadium closed off etc. I just think that being 4 points off a promotion spot in mid January isn’t a bad place to be, and this manager should have been given more time and resources.
@Lorcan Cunningham: Not as embarrassing as O’Neill himself. From his amazing lack of on-field tactics, to his total lack of regimented training sessions (no practicing of set piece defending?!) to his contemptuous attitude to the Irish media and Tony O’Donoghue in particular.
The man belongs in the dustbin of history, and should be let nowhere near any professional setup.
Let’s see what they can do when they can actually buy in players unlike international football. The ‘we haven’t got the footballers’ excuse would work here
He wasn’t fired!
“RUNNN FORREST RUNNN”
I’d like to see Keane work as a No. 2 for a manager who plays attacking football such as Brendan Rodgers or Roberto Martinez.
1. Karanka was not fired – he resigned, as per the club website.
2. In what parallel universe would either O’Neill or Keane be a good fit for Forest? A generation of Forest fans were brought up on free flowing passing football as practiced by Brian Clough. The younger ones want this to remain as the club ethos – we do not want to watch ‘$hit on a stick’ football with no real tactics as played by O’Neill sides. Clough once famously said “if god had wanted football to be played in the clouds, he’d have put grass up there”. O’Neill has never heeded his mentor’s coaching philosophy as a manager, somewhat ironic given that O’Neill was a cultured playmaker himself.
No, two coaches we definitely do not want to see employed at the City Ground are Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane.
@Colm O’Sullivan: I hope it’s neither of those two. I’ve a feeling it could be Jokanovic
Always liked O’Neill as a manager, gave Leicester a great belief when they were down and out! I don’t think he will be considered though…feel Marinakis will look for someone like Mark Hughes or David Moyes
That is ironic; good last line.
Daryl Murphy will end up there if Roy Keane goes there, Roy Keane and Daryl Murphy go together just as well as Harry Redknapp and Nico Kranjcar
@Eddie Dillon.: Daryl Murphy is already there.
@Eddie Dillon.: Ah jaysus Eddie