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Eddie Hearn suggests Jason Quigley will fight Jack Cullen on Whyte vs Povetkin undercard

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Eddie Hearn wants to make Jason Quigley [18(14)-1(1)] versus Jack Cullen [17(8)-2(2)] for May 2 and the undercard of Dillian Whyte and Alexander Povetkin’s heavyweight clash.

In fact the manner in which the Matchroom promoter leaked the news today and the language used suggests it deal has been done.

Hearn brought the bout up when introducing Cullen during the undercard press conference for this weekend’s Manchester Arena card topped by the mouthwatering Jono Carroll and Scott Quigg clash.

Cullen seemed aware the bout was a possibility, but didn’t want to comment seen as he has a fight with Tomas Andres Reynoso as soon as Saturday night.

Adding fuel to ‘done deal’ speculation Hearn hinted that if the 26-year-old was to come through unscathed a fight with the Golden Boy fighter awaits.

“I am planning for Jack [Cullen] to fight Jason Quigley on the Whyte P card on May 2, so zero pressure on Jack Cullen to get through Saturday night with no injuries and no cuts,” said Hearn.

Irish fans will be aware of Bolton’s Cullen considering he fought and impressed on Last Man Standing just under two years ago.

After beating Nick Quigley and soon to be Irish middleweight title challenger Chris Blaney, he lost out in the final to Roy Sheehan.

He since went on to win the English title, but lost to Felix Cash when fighting for the Commonwealth crown in November.

Such was the nature of that fight that Cullen’s stock rose even in defeat and it now seems like he is one win away from a Quigley fight.

New coach Andy Lee had called for Quigley to fight on the East Coast of America after his most recent win over Fernando Marin.

Lee felt marketing wise the popular Donegal figure was wasted on the West Coast. Although the middleweight is held in high regard by the Irish public and has a solid enough profile at home, there is a perceived distance due to the fact he trades leather for the most part in America.

With that in mind Cullen would look the ideal opponent. Quigley gets to face an emerging British talent, known to Irish boxing fans, on a show with cross over interest and much closer to home.

Victory on the PPV card would help Quigley’s UK profile and would allow more Irish fans to watch and invest in his performance live.

Hearn had previously suggested the mega fight between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano would populate the same card, but it that has yet to be officially confirmed as of yet.

Team Serrano seem to want to renegotiate a deal that was struck last month.

dpg

Jonny Stapleton

Irish-boxing.com contributor for 15 years and editor for the past decade. Have been covering boxing for over 16 years and writing about sports for a living for over 20 years. Former Assistant Sports editor for the Gazette News Paper Group and former Tallaght Voice Sports Editor. Have had work published in publications around the world when working as a freelance journalist. Also co-founder of Junior Sports Media and Leinster Rugby PRO of the Year winner. email: editoririshboxing@gmail.com

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