JASON QUIGLEY moved to 9-0 tonight in Las Vegas as the Ballybofey man defeated the durable Marchristopher Adkins.
For the first time in his professional career, Quigley was taken the distance and he had to overcome a nasty gash above his left eye, sustained when the punchers clashed heads in the third round.
Quigley had recorded eight inside-the-distance wins before tonight and Adkins clearly represented a step up in class for the 2013 World silver medalist.
Quigley outworked the Texan over the four rounds and when it went to the scorecards, Quigley was the unanimous winner 40-36, 40-36, 39-37, scores that didn’t really reflect the performance of the at-times awkward Adkins.
“I’m delighted to get the win. I had a great training camp, but I had to stay focussed and concentrate,” Quigley said after his first big test in the professional game.
“I came out on top, thank God. I have the best support teams around me and every time I get into that ring I get in 100 per cent confident.”
Quigley has made a flawless and seamless move from the amateur game into the professional rank.
Since July 2014 – when he took just 82 seconds to floor Howard Reece in his debut at the MGM Grand – he has won nine-from-nine and is steadily on the rise up the middleweight ladder.
This was certainly a more testing encounter than anything he’d previously faced since signing up with Golden Boy Promotions last year, but the four rounds and a tricky test will be sure to stand to the 24-year-old.
Quigley had won his last four fights by way of second round stoppages with Tolutomi Agunbiade, Joshua Snyder, Tom Howard and Michael Faulk put to the sword in the second stanzas.
Here, though, Adkins, from Dallas, made Quigley earn his corn and shaded a third round in which Quigley sustained a cut to his eye that required a brief examination from the ringside doctor, with 97 seconds left in the round.
As the blood seeped, there was momentary worry with Adkins’ corner urging their man to attack the eye, but the composed Quigley responded well and showed that he is capable of lasting the slog, too, while still demonstrating his superb boxing nous.
Although 31, Adkins had just seven previous contests to his name, but had won six of them – including his defeat of Shane Mosley Jnr last September in Phoenix, Arizona, where Adkins was given the verdict on a split decision.
Quigley finished well, with two strong right handers and when Joe Martinez, the announcer, called the result it was in favour of the still undefeated ‘El Animal’.
The fight pulls the curtain on 2015 for Quigley, who is aiming to make a big mark in the sport in 2016.
“Without a doubt, 2016 is where I’ll be looking to make an impact,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to getting home for the holidays in December. 2016 will be a massive year for Team Quigley.”
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