Jason Quigley remembers the National Stadium being "rammed with ones from Donegal" on the night he won his national senior title in 2013. A decade on, it will again be filled with Quigley supporters when the Ballybofey man steps into the ring for his first professional bout in Ireland.
Quigley, now 19-2 and eight-and-a-half years into his pro career, will headline a card at the South Circular Road venue against the 30-6 Dane Kim Poulsen on April 1st.
It's 15 months since Quigley lost to Demetrius Andrade with the WBO middleweight title on the line, his last fight, and a night on which he was stopped in the second round with a broken jaw.
THE RETURN | Quigley v Poulsen
April 1st Dublin National Stadium ☘️
Ticket link in bio or visit 👇🏼https://t.co/MmCHdtICpg pic.twitter.com/dQJIJYlTp3
— Jason Quigley (@jay_quigley) February 10, 2023
"As Andy (Lee) said earlier, this venue is built for boxing, and you can't get any better than that," Quigley told Balls at a press conference on Friday.
"Barry (Walsh) and the team get opponents together and they bring them to me. There was one or two... I think they were trying to ease me back into the game nice and gently! I wanted somebody coming in here with a good record, someone who's going to come in here, put up a fight.
"This place here is going to be sold out on April 1st. People are going to pay their hard-earned money to stay up here in Dublin for the weekend, and I want to make sure that I give them their money's worth. Without a doubt, this is for the fans as well."
Jason Quigley: 'I believe I will be a world champion'
To much laughter, Quigley's opponent said, "First of all, I know Jason very well... from YouTube."
Kim Poulsen with Jason Quigley at the Jason Quigley "The Return" Press Conference, National Stadium, Dublin. Photo credit ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy
"He's a very good fighter," continued Poulsen.
"I know it's very difficult to fight here but I trust myself. This is a big opportunity for me. When I heard about it from Barry, I was like, 'Yes, I want to fight here'. I have fought in Australia, the US, Germany, England, everywhere. It will be a good fight. I've prepared very well.
"My last fight didn't go that well. I got stopped in the fourth round. I was completely empty because I made so much weight in the last few days [before the fight], I think 11kgs. I had two weeks preparation for the fight, and it didn't go that well. I'm not that fighter I was in the last fight.
"I have a lot of respect for Jason, he's a good fighter. He has a lot of experience. I've had more fights than him, but he's had bigger fights than me.
"I have good memories from here. I was here one time with the national team, and got a win on points. Maybe it goes like that one more time. Maybe, maybe not, we will see."
Quigley said he was "emotionally all over the place" following the defeat to Andrade in November 2021. It was not until the following April or May that he felt itch to return to the gym.
"I trained all my life to get to that Andrade world title fight," said Quigley.
"For it to be taken away from me in the fashion that it was, it was hard to come to terms with.
"I did not get to show what me and Andy have been working on these last couple of years together. I didn't get to show anything really. That's hard to take.
"I know my ability, I know how good I am. I know how much I can achieve in this sport. I know what I want to achieve in this sport. It's about me now going back, and getting into that frame of mind, and putting in the performances that I know are in me.
"100 per cent [I want another world title shot]. Why else would you be doing this? Any who's in this sport just for the craic, or the sake of it, you're in the wrong game.
"You need to mean business whenever you're here. You need to have the right attitude, you need to have the right goal, the right vision. I believe that I will be a world champion."
Quigley also played a role in putting the card together. It will be one packed with Irish fighters.
"There's an underlying agenda and a purpose," said Quigley.
"Boxing has given me so much in my life that I want to leave this sport not just being known for winning this or fighting here, and doing that.
"I want to give back to this sport, and I want to give young fighters a better platform here in Ireland than there was when I was here. I want to leave this sport in a better place than when I came into it."
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