By Paddy Cronan

Jason Quigley improved his professional record to 8(8)-0 Saturday night at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, Calif., by scoring a second round knockout over Michael Faulk. Quigley was happy to break down the action following the contest.

“To be honest I hadn’t a clue about this boy,” Quigley revealed. “It was a late notice fight for the both of us, and obviously I had to get in there and suss him out.”

The Donegal native continued, “In the first round he was very awkward and he didn’t come at it at all. He didn’t try to make a fight, he tried to counter me which was very smart on his behalf. It was working well for him in the first 30 seconds, but as you know I sussed him out.”

Quigley went on to share his strategy for dealing with Faulk’s awkward style.

“Obviously with a southpaw you’re gonna try the back hands down the middle to the head and body,” the Golden Boy Promotions prospect related. I was getting through with a few. All he was doing was waiting on me all night, so half way through the first round I decided to cover up and put the pressure on him because he wasn’t going to make the fight. I got in there and let the shots go and started hurting him. I hit him with a right hook to the head which dropped him in the middle of the second round.”

While Quigley continues to build his reputation as a young knockout artist in the sands of California’s beaches and deserts, he insists he isn’t throwing caution to the wind.

“One fight can change it all,” Quigley warned. “No matter what the record of the guy you’re in with, one shot can change it so you have to be very wary. I knew I could take this guy out of there in the first round. I knew I could hurt him and that’s why I closed up shop. If I thought this guy wasn’t going to budge or I wasn’t going to take him out of there, I would have kept doing what I was doing because I was boxing nice. I was picking him off and he wasn’t committing, so he wasn’t catching me with much. Everything worked well but he made it very awkward, and any time I did get inside he was holding and tied up.”

Quigley refused to be deterred from the task at hand. When Faulk clinched, Quigley wasted little time working the body. Clearly he’s been working on these tactics in the gym, as his shots to the body flowed very naturally.

“Yeah definitely,” the former Irish amateur star confirmed. “I’ve been doing that in all my fights recently. Trying to work the body. With my coach in the gym (Manny Robles) this is what we emphasize. This is professional boxing…8, 10, 12 round fights. These body shots in the early rounds are going to take the gas out of them later on.”

In reflection, Quigley was content in assessing his performance against Faulk but yearns for the challenges ahead.

“Everything went well overall,” a satisfied Quigley remarked. “I was happy with my performance. I know there’s a lot of stuff to still work on, and there’s always going to be a lot of stuff to work on. This is what it’s all about. Gaining these experience points and getting the reputation early on, and having it then when it comes to the big fights. It’s all about learning. I’ve a lot of things to work on, and that’s why I’ll be getting back in the gym early and working on it.”