THE PERCENTAGE rose to new heights as Jason Quigley delivered an emphatic statement to blow away Jorgé Melendez at The Forum, Los Angeles.
The Ballybofey man’s entered this one ‘feeling dangerous’, as he put it – and ‘El Animal’ record a real statement win, just 2 minutes and 24 seconds into the first round.
Quigley had twice dropped Melendez and when the Puerto Rican was put to the canvas a third time the towel came in from the blue corner.
Quigley, in red and white trunks, was the picture of business as he entered the arena, keeping Melendez waiting for his entrance.
It was an utterly ruthless win by Quigley, who moves to 12-0.
A big right-hander downed Melendez and he was on the floor again on the back of a quick-fire Quigley volley.
Melendez got up, with referee Gerard White counting, but it wasn’t long before the massacre was over, the towel was in, the crowd was on its feet and Quigley was on the ropes taking the acclaim.
Quigley, whose father, Conor, was back in his corner here alongside Manny Robles and Edgar Jasso, has now really put himself out there in the middleweight divison.
Quigley was backed by a huge support in The Forum, including a gang who made their way down from The Irishman Bar in Huntington Beach, as well as a loyal band who traveled out from Donegal.
Melendez had won 30 of his previous 38 fights, 28 of them via knockout, and had halted the march of a couple of prospects too.
It was certainly a northwards step for Quigley, who was on the canvas for the first time since a unanmious decision win over James De La Rosa at the T-Mobile Arena in Last Vegas in May – and the manner of this win will have caught the eye of more than Melendez.
The 225 days since that fight, the first occasion on which he saw the tenth round bell, have fuelled Quigley’s desire and hunger to keep moving up the ladder.
His longest wait for a fight since making the transition from amateur to professional has made for a frustrating seven months of toil at The Rock Gym in Carson.
A planned bout in Texas in September on the undercard of the Canelo-Smith World title fight was pulled after Quigley sprained a wrist whilst sparring.
Quigley had won nine of his previous eleven contests inside the distance, with only De La Rosa and Marchristopher Adkins lasting the duration; Adkins having gone four rounds before losing 40-36, 40-36, 39-37.
Quigley was signed by Oscar De La Hoya in April 2014 after a standout year in the amateurs in 2013.
His debut year as a pro saw three swift wins before he lit the fuse in 2015, claiming a perfect six-out-of-six and now 2016 has ended in the most perfect of fashions.
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