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Andy Lee urges patience ahead of Jason Quigley return


He may be one of the select group of Irish fighters with genuine world title credentials – however, we should not expect the world from Donegal middleweight Jason Quigley when he makes his long-awaited return to the ring tomorrow night.

That’s the warning from former middleweight titlist Andy Lee ahead of Quigley’s fight at the Marina Bay Sport Complex in the Boston suburb of Quincy.

Quigley [13(10)-0] faces Daniel Rosario [11(10)-3(0)] over eight rounds in the co-headline bout of a Golden Boy on ESPN bill in association with Murphys Boxing – his first fight since March 23rd 2017.

The Ballybofey man badly injured his hand that night and, following some sideline soul-searching, Quigey elected to leave trainer Manny Robles in Los Angeles to link up with Dominic Ingle at the famous Wincobank Gym in Sheffield

Previewing the comeback clash for Off The Ball last night on Newstalk 106FM, Lee warned that “these can be the toughest fights you have. Quigley, if he just gets the win – he might be disappointed not getting the stoppage – it’ll be a good result.”

“He’ll be carrying a lot on his mind going into the fight. It takes four fights, a year, to adjust to a new style. When your back’s against the ropes you revert to what you know – which was a mix between his amateur days and some of the stuff he picked up in California.”

The Limerick fighter, who claimed the WBO middleweight title back in Decmeber 2014, is curious to see what changes and improvements Quigley has made under Ingle – who also trains reigning WBO champ Billy Joe Saunders, who claimed the belt from Lee, and former IBF welterweight champ Kell Brook.

The recently retired Lee noted how “it will be interesting to see how he shows, what styles, now that he’s training with Dominic Ingle, they’ve been training since before Christmas so there’s a bit of time to adjust.”

“The Ingle style is an awkward style, elusive. Traditionally it’s hands down by the waist and punching from awkward angles and slipping and moving your head and footwork. It’s a very effective style for them.”

“I’d like to see one or two things, something different that he’s picked up from Dominic Ingle. Nothing happens overnight.”

“I think there’ll be a finding of some medium between Quigley’s own style and the Ingle style and I’m sure they will.”

Lee, of course, knows what it is like to undergo a big change of trainer and location. Following the death of Manny Steward, the Irish Olympian returned from Detroit and linked up with Adam Booth in London.

There were a number of uninspiring performances at the start, but the relationship eventually clicked and Lee would win a world title in Las Vegas with a stunning stoppage of Matt Korobov.

Looking back, the Castleconnel man explained how “my first fight with Adam Booth, I fought Anthony Fitzgerald on a Frampton undercard in Belfast and it was probably one of my worst showings. It was my first fight back on this side of the world after losing to Chavez, a year later.”

“I’d been working with Adam six months at that stage and people were writing me off then and there because they didn’t realise I was using the fight to adapt and I was using the fight as training.”

“If Quigley goes out there on Saturday and looks bad but gets the win, I would say ‘don’t worry about it, just keep working on it in the gym with Dominic Ingle and in a year’s time we can judge your improvements.”

Listen to Andy Lee on Off The Ball below:

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Joe O'Neill

Reporting on Irish boxing the past five years. Work has appeared on irish-boxing.com, Boxing News, the42.ie, and local and national media. Provide live ringside updates, occasional interviews, and special features on the future of Irish boxing. email: joneill6@tcd.ie

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