Nick Quigley on Prizefighter Run, Brothers and Next Fight
By Terence Dooley
Nick Quigley was on hand to cheer for his younger brother John (9st 8lb) at Salford's Bowlers Exhibition Centre last night as he put on a punch perfect display to register a decision win against Kristian Laight (9st 11lb) over four-threes, referee John Latham scoring it 40-36 for the Liverpudlian on the FWP/VIP-promoted bill.
The Quigleys rock a muscular tweaking of the hands low, switch hitting style. John has bags of confidence in his own ability, often making his opponent miss then hammering home his own body shots to lower Laight's guard. Once the Nuneaton veteran's arms dropped, John whipped in rights to the head, much to the delight of Nick, who was sat beside me at ringside during his brother's victory.
“John will go all the way. I'll put all my money on him definitely becoming a world champion. He has all the potential,” enthused Nick after John's 5th consecutive win. “It is great to be part of a fighting family. We all did Karate before our older brother got into boxing so we just followed on from there.”
Nick and John are stylistically similar – both also hold wins over Laight, Nick registered a W over the 6-1-106 journeyman in his second fight – with Nick in particular picking up the style during his paid career.
“As an amateur my style was a bit more come forward aggressor. I like to mix things up so I drop my hands a bit now like Tony and John – I've learned from them. Tony is very slippery, awkward and strong. John's every fighter's nightmare with his style,” outlined Quigley.
Slick Nick made a name for himself by progressing to the Prizefighter: Light-Middleweights final in September, late sub Robert Lloyd Taylor taking advantage of longer rest periods between the last two fights to take a tight decision win and the crown. Nick, though, relished his time in the competition; he was eager to serve notice to Eddie Hearn that he is ready and willing if the format visits 154lbs again.
“It was a very good experience. I was obviously disappointed with the way my run worked out but it put me on the map. Hopefully I can get out a bit more and sell more tickets because of the extra recognition,” he explained.
“I was on the tough end of the draw All the way through I got less rest time than Robert going into the final. My quarter-final was hard because it against my mate [fellow Liverpudlian] Ste Harkin but the semi-final [with Kris Agyei-Dua was an all out war – you could see I was out on my feet. It was just the way the draw went.
“Our gym is known for not being too bothered about losing your perfect record, we'll fight anyone, so there was no problem about me going for it and possibly losing my unbeaten record. I think Prizefighter is the right choice for any boxer who wants to get on the map. I want to jump in there again if it comes back around to my weight. On the night, I saw that Eddie enjoyed my style of fighting. Hopefully he'll have me back again.”
As for his next move, “I am out before Christmas [on the Prince Aaron versus Brian Rose British light-middleweight title fight on December 3rd] then hope to fight for a Masters title in the New Year before looking at other titles such as the British title. I just have to keep up the hard work and keep improving.”
Tony Quigley has been MIA since drawing with Artsiom Salomka in March. There were rumours of a fight with unbeaten prospect Tony Jeffries for the former British 168lb titlist but those came to naught. Now there is talk of a rematch with city rival Tony Dodson up at light-heavyweight on January 28th. The two warriors fought a FOTY candidate for the domestic super-middleweight belt in 2009 – Quigley turning the fight on its head to stop Dodson in the twelfth stanza – so a return would be welcomed if Tony gets himself into fighting shape.
“I know our Tony respects Dodson. You can't not respect someone after the fight they put in last time. They're both warriors and it will be a great fight,” Nicky's thoughts on the mooted match up.
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