BY CHRIS MCNULTY
JASON Quigley has taken California by storm in his first few months as a professional boxers.
The Ballybofey man is gearing up for his third pro fight in Boston on October 30 having won his opening two bouts, against Howard Reece in July and Fernando Najera in August. In the days after his TKO win over Najera at The StubHub Center in Carson, Quigley returned home to Donegal, but is now set to fly back to America’s west coast in preparation for his next assignment.
Quigley has kept up his training regime in Ballybofey alongside his father and coach Conor. The duo will return to action in America in the coming days ahead of the Boston bout, a fight that is expected to draw a capacity crowd to the Plymouth Memorial Hall.
Fighting out of the Golden Boy Promotions Stable, owned by boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya, Quigley is also aligned to Sheer Sports Management, whose trainer Courage Tshabalala has high regard for Quigley’s rising status.
“Quigley really impressed me from the get-go,” Tshabalala said in an interview this week.
“(He) came over here from Europe and really had to prove himself in the gym. He has everyone in the gym looking at this clean-cut guy but he quickly showed why he is such a prospect.
“He was more than they could handle. He is signed with Golden Boy [Promotions] but is working with us.
“We have a good group here and it’s only going to get better and stronger.”
Tshabalala is of South African origon and is a former heavyweight boxer himself who recorded 26 wins in 30 fights himself, 22 of them by knockout, and has come up against former world champion Oleg Maskaev.
Tshabalala has sparred with the Klitschko brothers, Vitali and Wladimir, and knows the sport inside-out.
He believes Quigley is in good hands with Sheer Sports, formed by Ken Sheer.
Tshabalala said: “Ken wants to build a relationship with the fighters. He wants to get to know them as individuals. He wants to see them succeed in the ring and out of the ring.
“He really does care about the fighters he signs. He knows building that trust in the relationship is vital to allow the fighters to be able to put 100 per cent of their focus on training. They can relax and focus because they have trust and belief in who is handling them. They know that part of their career is being taken care of.”
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