‘He still wants it’ – Andy Lee backs Jason Quigley to win a world title
Andy Lee believes Jason Quigley [19(14)-2(2)] isn’t far off a world title tilt and argues he will be more equipped to win a belt the second time around.
The Limerick native knows all too well what it’s like to taste world title defeat and what it takes to bounce back to enjoy ultimate success. After losing to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in the summer of 2012, Lee eventually put his name on the list of Irish world champions with a stoppage win over Matt Korobov two years later.
It’s a path the Donegal fighter will have to take if he is to live the world title dream and a road, his trainer, Lee believes previous disappointment can help him successfully navigate.
Kronk graduate Lee also claims that if Quigley, who lost to Demetrius Andrade in a WBO middleweight title fight in November 2021, follows up a return victory against a late replacement on top of ‘The Return’ card at the National Stadium on Saturday with a win or two he will be right back in world title contention.
“There is still the ambition to become world champion,” Lee said.
“Sometimes you have to try once to realize what it takes. Michael Carruth would say that about the Olympics, 88 prepared him for 1992. I felt the same when I fought Chavez and two years later fought Korobov. Jason now knows what it’s like to go to that place. The fact he is here shows that he’s hungry, has the desire, and still wants it,” he adds before assuring Quigley is still a world-level relevant and of course capable.
“Jason is only a phone call away from a world title. After a couple of wins, he could be back in Las Vegas or New York or wherever it is.”
The fighter himself sang off a similar hymn sheet, suggesting the hurt of defeat to Andrade will be used as fuel going forward.
“The wounds healed but they’re a reminder of what I have been through and where I want to go,” Quigley said.
