Before tonight's fight with durable Mexican James De La Rosa, Jason Quigley had never been past the fourth round.
The 24-year-old went six further in Las Vegas tonight, oozing class en route to a unanimous, shutout decision over his vastly more experienced opponent. All three judges scored the contest 100-90; 10 rounds to zip in favour of the Ballybofey middleweight.
De La Rosa, whose record drops to 23-4, told Quigley to "keep working hard" as the pair embraced after a hugely entertaining contest. But despite having his moments, the perpetual step-up opponent never really came within an arse's roar of winning the fight.
Former European gold medallist and Worlds runner-up Quigley took the fight to the Mexican from the offset, building an early lead before rocking De La Rosa in the fifth. The Irishman, however, didn't risk moving in for the kill, opting to stick to his gameplan which - on tonight's evidence - was to comprehensively outbox a very solid opponent.
It was Quigley's sneaky left hooks on the backfoot and 'Mexican standoff' overhand rights from the hip which caught the eye, with the Donegal man slipping the jab and landing some solid counter-shots on his adversary. 'El Animal' rocked De La Rosa again in the 8th, peppering him against the ropes, but both men tired somewhat as we approached the final two stanzas.
In the corner with three minutes to go, trainer Manny Robles asked Quigley: "how does it feel to go 10 rounds?" A panting Quigley left out a massive grin before taking back his mouthpiece.
Perhaps in tribute to his good friend in the UFC, who himself was scheduled to fight in the same Vegas arena this July, Quigley had emerged to the familiar sound of The Foggy Dew. From there, it was all business.
Not @TheNotoriousMMA but Irish Jason Quigley #CaneloKhan #boxing pic.twitter.com/5Dm51wg1dM
— FOX Sports Radio1340 (@1340AMFOXSports) May 7, 2016
Quigley improves his record to 11-0 with 9KOs, and on tonight's evidence, Golden Boy Promotions have done their own shrewd piece of business in signing them under their world-renowned banner, considering the hype that's likely to surround him back home as his career progresses in the next 18 months.
Job done, and onto the next one for the man the Californians call The Animal.
World, meet @jay_quigley !
— Chris McNulty (@ChrisMcNultyDgl) May 7, 2016
Good win for middleweight prospect Jason Quigley, who pitched a shutout over 10 rounds in a step-up fight vs. James De La Rosa. #CaneloKhan
— Brian Campbell (@BCampbell) May 8, 2016
@jay_quigley does it again,unanimous decision,looked really strong.well done Jason,how did 10 rounds feel!!! pic.twitter.com/76T2hNSE8P
— Donegal Daily (@DonegalDaily) May 7, 2016
Congratulations @jay_quigley dominate performance over highly ranked fighter
— Joe Duffy (@Duffy_MMA) May 7, 2016
Strong performance by @jay_quigley! Congratulations on your unanimous decision win! 11-0 #TeamQuigley 🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/GcXvMJrT7k
— Golden Boy (@GoldenBoyBoxing) May 8, 2016
Jason Quigley, @jay_quigley is now trending in Ireland https://t.co/lnn4sECpiy
— Trendsmap Ireland (@TrendsIreland) May 8, 2016
