Jason Quigley named as one of the Top 20 prospects in boxing by ESPN
Donegal middleweight Jason Quigley [12(10)-0] has been picked by ESPN as one of the top prospects of the year.
The Golden Boy-promoted fighter was ranked #16 by Dan Rafael in his end-of-year awards list following a 2016 which saw him claim three wins – two of which were against strong gatekeepers James De La Rosa and Jorge Melendez.
A worldwide Top 20, the Ballybofey boxer has the second-least fights on the list alongside 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Oleksandr Gvozdyk, and behind eight-fight Japanese bantamweight sensation Takuma Inoue.
Top prize was given to American light middleweight Erickson Lubin [17(12)-0].
Rafael wrote how “‘El Animal’ is an aggressive puncher with a growing fan base. Quigley has been boxing since he was 7 and is a former amateur standout. In 2013, he won gold at the European championships and became the first Irish fighter to win a silver medal at the world championships. He was 3-0 in 2016, including his two most recent wins against his best opponents, a shutout decision against James De La Rosa and a first-round, three-knockdown destruction of Jorge Melendez.”
25 year old intends to be back in the ring in March as he looks to move himself into title contention in the new year.
The Top 20 in full can be read here.
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Joe O’Neill and Gavan Casey look ahead to 2017 in episode 1 of The Irish Boxing Show
