Jason Quigley excited by prospect of garden duel

Jason Quigley could have fought in front of thousands of punters in Manchester earlier this month.

Now his immediate ambitions have turned towards a possible August bout in Eddie Hearn’s back garden and he can hardly wait.

Hearn’s plan is to host a handful of what would be unique behind-closed-doors shows at his Matchroom HQ in Essex which would be screened by Sky Sports and be in line with all relevant Covid-19 protocols.

The project would involve a purpose-built gym, a hotel for fighters to isolate, the construction of changing rooms and with an estimated cost peaking beyond £1m (€1.1m) at a property which was once the Hearn family home.

A heavyweight meeting of Alexander Povetkin and Dillian Whyte is one of the proposed matchups. Katie Taylor is another mooted participant and Quigley is being lined up for a middleweight meeting with England’s Jack Cullen.

“I’m ready to hit the ground running,” said Quigley. 

“I’m not the type to eat all around me when I’m not in camp, I’ve been training away and all you need is five or six weeks of sparring and you’re right. I’m just waiting for everything to be confirmed and for the green light to be given.

“It’ll probably be in early August in Eddie Hearn’s back garden but with the way things are right now it could be pushed back.”

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The Donegal fighter was in a good place when the shutdown happened. Defeats of Abraham Cordero and Fernando Marin in the space of seven weeks either side of Christmas undid some of the damage off his first professional loss, to Tureano Johnson in California last July, and re-established momentum for a push at a world title.

Everything seemed to be clicking. He’d spent years on America’s west coast and then, for a spell, in Sheffield but he has worked out of Dublin since Andy Lee became his coach.

The pair have hit off, professionally and personally and a renewal of Quigley’s relationship with sports psychologist and friend Gerry Hussey has been another step in the right direction for him inside and outside the ring.

So he could be frustrated by this untimely pause just as his career was regaining traction but, instead, his take is a philosophical one.

He might not be pushing forward right now but he knows that nobody else is either. For now he is happy to be at home in Ballybofey full time with his girlfriend April and her daughter Sierra for company.

Training is a moveable feast from his own garden to the garage and a local track. There have been countless hours spent losing himself around Drumboe Wood near Stranorlar, chilling out at home and the Netflix library has been all but exhausted.

“I’d say it’s the first time I’ve spent this long at home since I was a teenager,” he said. “It’s been brilliant. It’s great to have this structure and this stability in my life. I’m usually travelling all over the world for training or a fight.”

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