“Nobody knows what I’ve been through.”
Jason Quigley defeated Shane Moseley Jr in Las Vegas, on Saturday, to win the vacant WBO-NABO middleweight title and vault into the title picture against the division’s top dog – Demetrius Andrade.
Quigley has endured a frustrating 12 months after going through fight camps only for bouts to be cancelled or postponed. Preparing for any fight is tough enough, but trying to plot a course through the choppy middleweight waters was tougher still when the Covid pandemic is taken into consideration.
The Donegal native finally made it to the ring to face Moseley with a belt on the line, and both men waded into each other for 10 entertaining rounds.
Quigley, who went into the fight with an 18-1 record, looked to have the better of the exchanges, over the closing championship rounds, but both fighters looked considerably dinged up when the final bell sounded.
The bout went to the judges’ scorecards and it was Quigley that had his hand raised, and the WBO-NABO (North American Boxing Organisation) belt strapped around his waist, after a majority decision [95-95, 97-93, 96-94] went in his favour.
As the announcer declared, “And your winner, from Ballybofey, County Donegal, Ireland, JASON QUIGLEY!” the 30-year-old dropped to his knees before being swarmed by his jubilant team.
After exchanging some words of commiseration with Moseley Jr., Quigley spoke to DAZN about the tough road he went through, to get back in the world title picture, and how he tapped into everything he could – affirmations, meditation, visualisations, and more – to get win No.19.
Asked what his future plans were, Quigley had clearly not forgotten how Demetrius ‘Boo Boo’ Andrade – the outright WBO champion – got his name wrong, years ago, when he was seeking game opponents.
“I’ve got the belt now; I want to move on. I remember, three or four years ago, when Boo Boo Andrade had no promoter, he had no real management going on. He was like, ‘I’ll fight this Jason Quagley guy’. He didn’t even pronounce my second name right.
“Boo Boo Andrade, now you’re the champ. You’re always crying that you don’t have people to fight you. I’m not saying I’m going to get in and kick your ass. I’ll get in there and put on one hell of a fight with you. I’ve got a belt, you’ve got the main one, give me a crack at that title!”
Andrade moved to 30-0 when he defeated Liam Williams in April of this year and he has not been seriously tested since 2017.
Quigley is hoping his fourth win on the bounce, and the manner of his performance can give him a crack at Boo Boo.
