Dodson, Quigley Drop Rematch Hints at Awards Show
By Terence Dooley
Tony Dodson and Tony Quigley met at an awards event in Liverpool on Monday night yet the two rivals swapped compliments rather than jibes and hinted at the possibility of a rematch to their epic first encounter.
Quigley defeated Dodson for the British 168lb title in March of last year only to be relieved of the title in his maiden defence when dropping a tight split-decision to local rival Paul Smith, who carried the final two rounds to take the fight.
Smith faces Dodson in another red-hot Liverpool derby next Friday night. Dodson has declared an interest in fighting Quigley should he grab the title from Smith’s grasp. “Me and Tony may fight again soon, I know the fans want to see it. First I have to take my title back off Paul Smith, of course, but I’d love to do it with Tony again,” declared Dodson when speaking to Nick Peet of The Liverpool Echo.
He continued: “As you can see we are mates now, like we were before. Some people find that hard to understand, that two lads who tried to punch holes in one another can then sit down and have dinner and a few laughs, but we are both professionals and that’s our job to hit people. That’s how we get paid.”
Quigley stopped Dodson at 1:14 of the twelfth and final round; he had fallen behind on points after flooring Dodson during a torrid second stanza. Though set to campaign at middleweight, Quigley would relish an opportunity to step up in weight in order to regain the Lonsdale belt despite suffering greatly in the aftermath of that first encounter.
“The morning after the fight last year I spoke to Tony on the phone and I was complaining to him that my back was sore and my arms were sore, in fact, everything was sore,” said Quigley. “But he was ready to go again I think. If it wasn’t for the stitches in his eyes he’d have got right back in there while I slept like a baby for days.”
Dodson’s latest title challenge takes place at the ECHO Arena, which hosted the Quigley-Dodson/Smith battles, and the bout has captured the imagination of Liverpool’s boxing fans, who are currently basking in the glow of a resurgent boxing scene.
Tickets for 'The Pride of Merseyside' are priced at £40, £50, £100, £150 and £200 and are available from:
Liverpool Echo Arena Box Office
0844 8000 400
www.echoarena.com
See Tickets
0871 2200 260
www.seetickets.com
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