IN THE MOMENTS after Jason Quigley was beaten by Zhanibek Alimkhanuly in the World Championship final in 2013, Gerry Hussey made a prediction.
Hussey is a Performance Psychologist who was in Almaty with the Irish boxers.
Alimkhanuly edged out Quigley in the final, Hussey took to Twitter.
“Scars will heal, dreams repair, battles will be lost and wars will be won and if you worry we are finished, I promise we have just begun!!” he tweeted.
Quigley did a lot of work with Hussey in those days and now, as a professional, the Ballybofey man still carries the lessons with him.
[adrotate group=”57″]This week, as he prepares to meet James de La Rosa on Saturday night in Las Vegas, Quigley goes to his ‘special place’, where he can see his hand being held aloft and his record extended to 11-0.
Quigley doesn’t class himself as overly-religious, but he does have a strong faith.
A pair of black rosary beads are always around his neck and he prays every night.
His trunks on fight night bear the name ‘Bobby’ in tribute and in memory to his late grandfather.
“I do a lot of visualisation and meditation,” Quigley says.
“After training I like to visualise everything before I go to bed and just get things right in my head. It relaxes the mind.
“I just sit there, close my eyes and go to my special place. I visualise what I’m going to do to this guy.
“I’m a holy person and I say my prayers every night. I never take my rosary beeds off me.
[adrotate group=”38″]“You need something to believe in, I think. I know God’s looking down on me and my granda Bobby. I know I’m not there by myself. I never get into that ring alone.”
Enjoying what he does is important, too and Quigley is loving life right now.
“I just have to keep climbing the ladder,” he says.
“I need to control everything that’s going on around me.
[adrotate group=”58″]“I’ll enjoy every minute of it – I’ll even enjoy the fight.
“This is what it’s all about. I’m lucky to be in this position. I’m getting up every day with a smile on my face and I have to love every minute of this.”
Hussey was right: Those World Championships were merely just the beginning.
Quigley says: “Saturday night is the start of my professional career.”
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