In the early hours of Saturday morning, Jason Quigley will be presented with an opportunity that rarely finds its way to Irish fighters. He will have the chance to be crowned a world champion, taking on Demetrius 'Boo Boo' Andrade in New Hampshire for the WBO-NABO middleweight strap.
It is a bout that the Donegal man has been working towards his entire life, but he will enter the ring as an outsider. His American opponent boasts a professional record of 30-0 and has been a world title holder since 2013.
Still, Quigley will enter this one full of belief.
He has had his setbacks in recent years, with his loss to Tureano Johnson back in 2019 halting what had been a hugely promising start to his time in the pros. He has bounced back since, winning his last three fights. Now he is set to face the biggest test of his career to date.
What will he need to do to pull off the upset? Eric Donovan believes that a focus on the basics of the sport, something Quigley had gotten away from a few years ago, could be key.
Speaking on The Buildup podcast, Donovan said that Quigley has turned things around in recent times with his partnership with Andy Lee after losing his way a bit before the loss to Johnson.
In the early part of Jason's career, he spent a bit of time out in LA and they gave him the nickname 'El Animal'. He was dominating a few of his early fights and knocking lads out.
Sometimes that can all play a part, you think you've got to start fighting that style, the 'El Animal' style and give these people what they want.
For most top fighters, in the first ten fights of their professional career they should be knocking guys out, they should be getting rid of them with relative ease. Then the benchmark and bar is going to be raised, the opposition will come tough and ready after that.
I just felt that maybe Jason neglected a bit of his boxing skills, especially in that fight against Tureano Johnson. He went away from what actually made him great in the first place, which is his boxing skills, his boxing IQ, and his intelligence.
I think I can see that coming back now with the help of Andy Lee.
Yeah he had a good win against [Shane] Mosley Jr, but it wasn't all plain sailing for him. We expected him to win the fight, but he actually had to pull it out of the fire. It was slipping away from at one stage, he was down on the card and then turned it around at the midway point. He turned it around by doing what he does best, and that's boxing.
Last session with the Team before I fly to Boston tomorrow 🥊☘️
.@gypsyjohnfury @johnnyward1 @Tyson_Fury @tommytntfury @joeboxerparker @AndyLeeBoxing @DavidNyika some line up 💪🏼
.
Thank you Tyson for having me in your gym for my camp 🙏🏼
.#AndradeQuigley #AndTheNew @DAZNBoxing pic.twitter.com/uKypNKMa88— Jason Quigley (@jay_quigley) November 10, 2021
What will be key to winning the world title for the Irishman?
Andrade may be undefeated as a pro, but only two of his last seven victories have come via stoppages. Eric Donovan believes he has a tendency to cruise a bit in fights, something Quigley can take advantage of if he can stick with his for the first half of the bout.
I think he's going to need those boxing skills and IQ against Andrade, especially in that first half of the fight. Andrade is a dangerous, dangerous guy, especially in the early rounds when he is explosive and powerful. He is so fast.
If Jason can navigate his way through the early rounds and be within touching distance, don't go all out. Be smart, be clever, and remember that it's a marathon and not a sprint. If he can be within touching distance at the halfway point of the fight, then I think he's in with a great chance.
Andrade tends to start fast and finish slow, that has been the pattern over his last number of fights. If he doesn't get you out of there early he kind of plateaus a bit. If Jason can be within touching distance at the midway point, he can have a go then, but be careful.
Despite the fight set to taking place at around 3am Irish time on Saturday morning, you can expect a huge amount of people in this country to be up and cheering Quigley on in his quest for that world title.
Listen and Subscribe to The Buildup Podcast here or on Spotify here.
SEE ALSO: Quigley Spreads Donegal Cheer In New Hampshire Before World Title Fight
