JASON QUIGLEY WATCHED Conor McGregor’s defeat to Nate Diaz earlier this month and took a mental note.
Diaz beat UFC superstar McGregor via second-round submission with a rear-naked choke in Las Vegas.
It broke a 15-fight win streak by McGregor, stretching back to his defeat to Donegal’s Joseph Duffy in 2010. Ten of those wins by McGregor came inside the first round.
Quigley is 9-0, with eight wins inside the scheduled distance, as he heads for his next bout, against Freddy Lopez at Fantasy Springs on Friday night.
This is the first time Quigley has been pencilled in for eight rounds and the Ballybofey man will be title-eligible after this one.
Quigley has adapted well to the professional ranks – and is ready to last the marathon if it comes to it against Lopez (9-3).
“My boxing has had to change now I’m moving to eight rounds,” Quigley says.
“It’s not the three-by-three-minute round sprint anymore from amateur boxing now. For eight rounds I’ve to pace myself.
“Look at what Conor McGregor did against Nate Diaz. McGregor tried to bomb Diaz out in the first round. Diaz just blocked him away and took his time.
“Diaz wasn’t looking at the first round – he was looking at later on in the fight.
“McGregor was in looking for the kill. He made a wee small mistake that cost him.
“I can learn from that. My number one priority is getting the ‘W’ and number two is looking good while doing it.
“This is a business I’m in so you have to look good and please the fans who are paying money.”
In his last outing, back in November in Las Vegas, Quigley – who trained with McGregor early last year in 2015 – was taken the full four rounds by Marchristopher Adkins and the former Finn Valley man won on points having survived a nasty gash to his left eye.
He says: “The last fight was a great fight in every way. I went the distance. I got cut and had to deal with a few things like that. It went very well. I didn’t panic and I didn’t let the cut frustrate me. I just concentrated on my game plan. He was an awkard opponent and didn’t want to fight.
“But those are the guys you have to go in with and no matter who I’m in with it’s all about getting that ‘W’ on the record. Marchristopher has fought since then and beaten another undefeated fighter (Yunier Calzada).
“For me, it’s all about climbing that ladder.”
Quigley has been sparring with Matthew Macklin, the former Irish, British and European middleweight champion, and Jorge Sebastian Heiland – the last man to beat Macklin – in Los Angeles.
“People are looking on paper and saying: ‘Quigley hasn’t gone past four rounds and he’s going into an eight round fight now’, but two of my fights were scheduled for six rounds and I took the guy out,” Quigley said.
“This is an eight-rounder and I’ve been doing ten rounds with Matthew Macklin and Sebastian Heiland.
“It’d be Heiland in for four and then a fresh Macklin for six. That’s ten rounds with two different boxers – and that isn’t just two boys in off the street. These boys are at the top of the tree.
“Every fight I get into I’m improving and I’m becoming a better all-round fighter. I’m learning, I’m gaining experience and I’m coming in off the back of the best training camp I’ve ever had.
“It’s the same now as maybe someone going into an exam. My studying is the sparring and the training. I have to be prepared for my exam, which is the fight on Friday night.
“I’m preparing myself and preparing the mind for the exam. I’m ready for it.”
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