Jason Quigley makes surprise trip to Ireland and hopes for homecoming fight in future

In his latest diary entry, Jason Quigley describes a memorable trip home and is more determined than ever to make his name in Los Angeles.

I headed back home to Donegal in Ireland after my last fight. My mother did not have a clue that I was coming back and I surprised her by hiding in the boot of a car. When I jumped out her face absolutely dropped and she didn’t make a noise for a few seconds. But thankfully she started screaming with joy, so I think she was happy to see me.

It was great to see my family and you really appreciate all the things that you miss when you’re away from home. The weather was terrible when I was back, so it was great just to sit in front of an open fire, with a cup of tea and biscuits. It was a complete change from life in Los Angeles!    

While I was home I met Ronan Roddy, who has competed in the Special Olympics. He’s also a steward at Finn Harps FC and every time I go down to the match I always see him there. He’s an inspiration and puts everything into his training. Ronan is always running, he’s done marathons, 10 kilometre, five kilometre runs. He really puts a lot into life and everything he does. He’s a real character and I always have a laugh with him. I was just congratulating him on doing the Belfast marathon.

It was great to return to Ireland and I think down the line Golden Boy have got plans for me to fight there in the future.

It was great to return to Ireland and I think down the line Golden Boy have got plans for me to fight there in the future. That is provided that everything goes well and I keep winning. I would definitely love to have a homecoming fight there at some stage.

I’m back in LA now and I’ve just got the word that my next fight will be in Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena on July 11. I’m really excited and I cannot wait. It’s time for me to go and do the business. Golden Boy are delighted with my progress so far and they want to keep me as busy as possible. Hopefully we are building towards a big future and it’s now up to me to get in the ring and perform. It’s really important to build my fan base over here. It’s growing nicely and I want this to be like a second home. 

There has been huge interest in Miguel Cotto over here recently, especially after his win over Daniel Geale. All the talk is about a possible future fight between Cotto and fellow light-middleweight Saul ‘Canelo' Alvarez or middleweight Gennady Golovkin.

I think Canelo and Cotto are more of a match weight wise, because Golovkin has serious strength and that extra bit of size as well, which would be an advantage for him. I would love to see Cotto and Canelo, it would be a massive fight and the rumour is that fight is practically made already.