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With Sergiy Derevyanchenko passing on an offer to instead work on a deal to face WBC middleweight titlist Jermall Charlo, Canelo Alvarez still needs an opponent to fight on Sept. 12, when he intends to return to action.
Jason Quigley, the Irish middleweight who hasn’t broken through the way Golden Boy have hoped for some years now, says he’s received an offer for the bout.
“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?’ 100 per cent, I said ‘yes.’”
Quigley (18-1, 14 KO) is a 29-year-old fighter originally from Ireland, based in California. He turned pro in 2014 on the prelims of the Canelo-Lara card, and has been fairly well pushed as a prospect under the Golden Boy banner.
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But he’s also just not made the strides hoped for. He appeared to be on the way with some decent wins for level in 2016-18, but a humbling stoppage loss when he stepped up in level against Tureano Johnson in July 2019 was a major setback. He’s not a young pup anymore, either, so calling him a “prospect” anymore is a bit of a stretch. He has won two straight, albeit against weak opposition meant to try to get him back on track.
I won’t lie and say this is a good fight for Canelo (53-1-2, 36 KO), but it might be the level of fight going to be made for that date. Quigley won’t be expensive, and frankly presents a very low level of risk. If Alvarez is going to fight for a drastically reduced purse, what with These Trying Times and all, someone like Quigley might be the level of challenge Alvarez is willing to take on. This is all cynical and sort of insulting to Quigley, I realize, but it’s just impossible to frame otherwise without lying about how this fight sizes up on paper.