Jason Quigley is so close he can almost smell the greenbacks rolling off the printing press.
The 29-year-old Irishman has emerged – improbably – as one of a handful of candidates to potentially take on Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez, cash cow incarnate, in the fall. It would easily be the toughest assignment of Quigley’s career, as well as his most lucrative.
"It's a high possibility now,” Quigley (18-1, 14 KOs) confirmed to Sky Sports. “Golden Boy and my Sheer Sports Management team have been in touch with me. They have offered me the fight, to fight Canelo Alvarez, and it's all there.”
On paper, there are relatively few hurdles preventing that fight from happening, despite the complications wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic. Both fighters are promoted by Golden Boy and aligned with streaming platform DAZN. Moreover, unlike some of the other elite fighters whose names have cropped up as possible opponents for Alvarez (53-1-2, 36 KOs), Quigley, who is relatively unknown, is not likely to price himself out at the negotiating table.
"We're just waiting now for the possibility,” Quigley said. “Of course, there's other boxers that could possibly be getting the fight as well. But I have been asked, 'would I take the fight?' 100 percent, I said ‘yes.’”
Another name reported to be in the mix for the so-called Canelo Sweekstakes is British super middleweight John Ryder (28-5, 16 KOs), who is promoted by Eddie Hearn. Montreal’s David Lemieux (41-4, 34 KOs), a longtime promotional stablemate of Alvarez, is also reported to be in the running.
"I've been hearing all those names that are put in front of him, but week by week and day by day, it looks like these names are thinning down lower and lower," said Quigley, who is trained by countryman and former middleweight titleholder Andy Lee. “Out there at the minute, it's looking like myself or Ryder that could be high potential possibilities for that fight."
Should the fight materialize for Quigley, a career middleweight, he will be a significant underdog. In fact, in some corners the fight nothing less than a mismatch. Quigley was a well-regarded undefeated prospect for a while, until Tureano Johnson rudely upset him in 2019. Since then Quigley has reeled off two consecutive knockout wins. A Canelo fight would certainly be counted as one of the improbable developments of his young career.
"Turning professional on July 12, on the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, on the Canelo-Lara undercard, and now look at us,” Quigley reflected. ”A few years on and I'm possibly going to be fighting Canelo Alvarez. It's been a crazy career for me. It's been an enjoyable one, there's been a lot of ups and downs.
"I want to get in with the best in the world. Canelo Alvarez is the best out there at the minute, he's the face of boxing, and I want to get in there and I want to see how good he really is, and give him everything I've got, if it all comes off.”
