“I wish that I enjoyed life more when I look back, but there were days where I didn’t want to get out of bed.”
Donegal boxer Jason Quigley has had an incredible career to date, and on Thursday at 10.30pm on Virgin Media Two, a new documentary called Lift Your Heels will show incredible insight into the fighter’s life.
In the lead-up to his recent world title fight against Demetrius Andrade, the documentary shows everything from his preparation, family life, and the issues he has to deal with outside of the ring.
Irish boxer and Ladbrokes ambassador, Jason Quigley, features in a compelling documentary that tells the story of his journey to one of the most important fights of his career. ‘Lift Your Heels’ documentary will air on Virgin Media Two on Thursday 10th March at 10.30pm.Despite the fact that the fight didn’t go the way he wanted, Quigley is adamant that his preparations for the bout were perfect.
“Everything was 100% spot on, I wouldn’t have changed anything, it was a great lead-up to the fight. I had all of my people in and around leading up to it, it was something else.
“On the night however, it just did not go my way, once that bell rang, nothing went my way and that’s life, that’s boxing.”
During the clash with Andrade, the Irishman suffered a broken jaw in two places and had to get plates put in place.
“The pain was hard, but the most difficult thing was trying to yawn,” joked the world title contender.
“You couldn’t even open your mouth, and eating was a massive struggle which hit me harder because I was on such a strict diet for 10 or 12 weeks leading into that fight, and after a fight you look forward to eating what you want, but I was actually more restricted because of the broken jaw.
“My fiancée April didn’t get too many kisses either, so it affected us in a lot of ways.”
Still only 30, and determined to right the wrongs of that night, Quigley isn’t hanging up the gloves yet, trusting his team to navigate a path back to a world title shot when his jaw fully heals.
However, that doesn’t mean he isn’t looking to the future, and given his very honest and public struggles with mental health in the past, he wants to carve out a career in wellbeing so that he can really help people.
“In the documentary I talk a lot about how I suffered from depression, anxiety, and how I didn’t really enjoy life the way that I should have.
“I wish I that I enjoyed life more when I look back, but there were days where I didn’t want to get out of bed and face the day ahead of me.
“I’m in a much better place, emotionally and mentally, and have come through those dark days into bright, sunny days and I’m enjoying a much healthier life.
“That’s something I want to do after boxing, I want to help people – help them get a community together, help them live a healthy life where they are exercising regularly, eating healthy, meditating, doing yoga, and guiding them on how to do all of that.”
A lot of people don’t know this, but the Donegal destroyer has struck up an unlikely friendship with current Tyrone GAA captain and former amateur boxer, Pádraig Hampsey.
A former Gaelic footballer himself, Quigley reveals how he knows the All-Ireland winning captain.
“The relationship between me and Paudie is mainly through slagging because of the rivalry between Donegal and Tyrone,” laughed Quigley.
“Paudie had messaged me a few times and was very supportive of me for my fights, and I got to know him then and got to know that he did a bit of boxing himself.
“I must actually get him in the ring sometime and see what he’s made of.”
Now that would make for great PPV.
Irish boxer and Ladbrokes ambassador, Jason Quigley, features in a compelling documentary that tells the story of his journey to one of the most important fights of his career. ‘Lift Your Heels’ documentary will air on Virgin Media Two on Thursday 10th March at 10.30pm.
