Jason Quigley and Canelo Alvarez Anyone?
As his September Mexican Independence fight date continues to rocket toward us, pressure is higher than ever to locate an opponent for WBA super world middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (53-1-2, 36 KO’s). Life for Team Alvarez has remained a hectic affair ever since WBO world super middleweight champion “Superb” Billy Joe Saunders (29-0, 14 KO’s) backed out of a fight with Canelo.
With Saunders’ name no longer in the hat, a list of would-be adversaries, such as WBA super world super middleweight champion Callum “Mundo” Smith (27-0, 19 KO’s) and John “The Gorilla” Ryder (28-5, 16 KO’s), have been floated around. Now, hard-hitting Irish middleweight Jason “El Animal” Quigley (18-1, 14 KO’s) has been added to the list of potential candidates.
THE THIRD CONTESTANT
As reported to Sky Sports, Quigley has relayed the message that he had been approached as a possible dance partner for the Mexican sensation. Naturally, the once-defeated Irishman is excited and more than willing to do what he must to make the bout a reality.
“Turning professional on July 12, on the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, on the Canelo-Lara undercard, and now look at us.”
“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. But it’s a high possibility now. 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.”
“We’re just waiting now for the possibility. 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; one hundred percent, I said yes.”
“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.”
TOUGH TIMES
For many people, even the potential of El Animal being selected will be something of a head scratcher. Quigley has virtually no name recognition in the States. Also, he has never faced anyone near the level of popularity or skill as Canelo and is he only two fights removed from a ninth round stoppage loss at the hands of Tureano Johnson (21-2-1, 15 KO’s).
In fact, the best thing going for Quigley, on paper, is that he is ranked as the WBC’s #14 middleweight. Well, that and he is currently residing in the US. Beyond that, there is very little rationale as for why he would be on such a short and coveted list.
Clearly when COVID-19 protocols constrained gate revenue, Alvarez’s ability to pull solid opposition was severely handicapped. At this point, given the available opposition and the reaction of the boxing public, it would not be surprising to hear that Team Alvarez scraps the entire date period.
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By: Bakari Simpson
