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Jason Quigley feels Spike O’Sullivan scrap is unlikely

Jason Quigley [11(9)-0] does not believe that an all-Irish middleweight brawl with Spike O’Sullivan is likely.

The Donegal fighter features next weekend on the Bernard Hopkins v Joe Smith Jr undercard in California where he faces Puerto Rican KO artist Jorge Melendez. However, a bout with the big-punching O’Sullivan [23(15)-2(1)] is not one which he sees in his future.

Leesider O’Sullivan has fought just once this year as he spent the early part of 2016 sidelined with a perforated ear-drum suffered against Chris Eubank Jr. The Celtic Warriors Gym puncher had hoped to face Anthony Ogogo, but saw this scuppered when the 2012 Olympic bronze medalist fell to a shock defeat against Craig Cunningham. It is unknown what O’Sullivan’s thoughts on a fight with the Ulster man are.

Quigley outlined his views on the popular BoxHard Podcast. Here the possibility of a clash with Spike was proposed to him and he described how he does not think the bout is appealing to boxing fans, or indeed the fighters involved. The Ballybofey man said “right now, put that fight out to the public, do they want to see Spike O’Sullivan and Jason Quigley fight? Personally, I don’t think the people want to see that.”

“I’m doing a lot of my fights over here [America], he’s calling out a lot of those English guys like Chris Eubank and Anthony Ogogo, maybe he’s looking at a different path than the one that I’m on right now. Is Spike going to drop down and fight a guy with 11 or 12 pro fights? You know what I mean? This is a business as well, this isn’t just getting into the ring and fighting, this is a business, and you have to be very smart and you have to make the right decisions.”

“For me, I’m at the stage of my career where I want to fight guys that will help me get to that world title. If Spike comes along on my pathway and I have to fight him, then that’s the way it’s going to be.”

Quigley stressed that he has no bad-blood with the Cork slugger, and outlined how “Spike’s a good lad, I get on really well with Spike. I think he’s a great fighter, a great person. I really like him, he’s a funny dude as well.”

‘El Animal’ refused to rule out the possibility of a fight with O’Sullivan, and explained how “this is boxing, anything can change around, anything can turn around, and at the end of the day, it would be a great all-Ireland clash. I’m sure a lot of Irish fans would like to see it – and especially if it was held in Ireland.”

“If there is a belt on the line, or if it is an eliminator, of course the both of us would grab that fight with both hands – not because we dislike each other, or because we want to fight each other, but because of the belts, because of where it will get us.”

“If the fight happens, it happens.”

Listen to Jason Quigley’s interview on the BoxHard podcast in full below:

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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